Irish house prices rose 5.1% in the year to August 2026, the slowest annual pace since December 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office. Its Residential Property Price Index, published on 13 October 2026, put the median price paid for a home at €400,000 across the twelve months.
That slowdown is real, but it is narrow. Prices are still climbing, and outside Dublin they are climbing slightly faster than they were a month earlier. For an agent advising a client who is weighing Ireland against Spain, Portugal or Italy, the number worth quoting is not the headline but the gap between the capital and everywhere else.
What Ireland’s August Price Data Actually Shows
This index tracks prices paid on dwellings filed with Revenue and rose 5.1% nationally in the 12 months to August, down from 5.4% in the 12 months to July. Samantha Walsh, a statistician in the CSO’s prices division, said the August reading was the lowest annual rise since December 2023, when it came in at 4.1%. Month on month the index moved up 0.7%, from 208.3 to 209.7 on a base of 2015 equals 100.
Context matters more than the direction of travel. Today the national index sits 28.2% above its April 2007 peak, and prices are 185.8% above the trough they hit in early 2013. Dublin prices are 11.5% above their February 2007 high, and prices in the rest of Ireland are 32.0% above their May 2007 level. A buyer waiting for a correction is waiting on a property market that has spent thirteen years going the other way.
Dublin Cools While the Border Region Runs Hot
Dublin prices rose 3.9% in the year to August, down from 4.5% in the 12 months to July. Outside the capital the annual rate edged up, from 6.1% to 6.2%. Houses nationally rose 4.9% while apartments rose 6.6%. Outside Dublin the split is wider still, with houses up 6.0% and apartments up 8.6%.
It is the regional spread that carries the story. Growth was strongest in the Border region of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo at 9.1%, followed by the Midlands at 8.8%. Slowest were the Mid-East and the South-West at 4.9% each. Dublin City itself managed just 1.0%, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown ran at 6.0%.
A Median Home Now Costs €400,000 Nationwide
Over the twelve months to August the median price paid for a dwelling was €400,000. Dublin was the most expensive region at €500,000, with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown at €685,000 and Dublin City at €475,000. Outside Dublin, Wicklow was dearest at €480,000 and Kildare followed at €450,000. Longford was the cheapest at €199,000.
At Eircode level the gap is wider again. A41, around Ballyboughal in north Dublin, had the highest median at €865,000, followed by A94 in Blackrock at €851,500. F45, around Castlerea in Roscommon, was the least expensive at €160,000, with H23 in Clones at €176,000 and F93 in Lifford at €180,000. An agent moving a client from a Dublin suburb to the west is talking about a five-fold difference in the same country.
Transactions, Values and First-Time Buyer Demand
Volume is holding up. In August 2026, 4,279 dwelling purchases by households were filed with Revenue at a total value of €1.95 billion, an increase of 2.5% on the 4,174 filed in August 2025. Existing dwellings accounted for 3,241 of them and €1.44 billion of the value, with 1,038 new dwellings making up the remaining €506.4 million.
First-time buyers are the group to watch. Revenue data shows 1,811 first-time buyer purchases filed in August, up 12.0% on the 1,617 filed a year earlier, and split between 659 new and 1,152 existing homes. Over the twelve months to August they made up 41.0% of household purchases, against 49.8% for former owner-occupiers and 9.2% for non-occupier buyers.
| Irish market measure | Latest figure |
|---|---|
| National price growth, year to August 2026 | 5.1%, down from 5.4% in July |
| Dublin price growth | 3.9% |
| Price growth outside Dublin | 6.2% |
| Median dwelling price | €400,000 |
| August purchases filed with Revenue | 4,279, worth €1.95 billion |
| First-time buyer purchases in August | 1,811, up 12.0% on a year earlier |
| Median asking price, July to September | €390,000 |
Three numbers a buyer will ask about once the paperwork starts:
- Sale price against earnings. MyHome’s quarterly report puts the median selling price at €412,000 against average pay of €54,000, or 7.7 times earnings.
- The first-time buyer position, which is easier than the headline suggests, at a typical joint income of €95,000 against a property worth €408,000 in 2025.
- Renting as the alternative, where annual rental inflation reached 9.1% in the third quarter, the fastest since mid-2023.
What Estate Agents Should Watch Into 2027
Supply in the housing market is loosening at the edges. MyHome’s third-quarter report, published on 13 October 2026, found 14,630 homes listed for sale, a rise of 12.5% on a year earlier, and asking prices 3.9% higher than a year before, the softest pace since the second quarter of 2023. Quarter on quarter, asking prices fell 1.4% nationally, 2.3% in Dublin and 1.0% in the rest of Ireland.
Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Bank of Ireland and the report’s author, expects the CSO index to rise about 4% across 2026, with completions of 39,600 this year and 42,000 in 2027. Five things worth keeping in front of a client:
- Quote the regional rate, not the national one. A buyer moving to Donegal is looking at 9.1% annual growth, not 5.1%.
- Treat the asking price fall as a negotiating signal. A national quarterly drop of 1.4% with more stock on the market is the moment to push on price.
- Bring energy upgrades into the valuation conversation. MyHome’s analysis of BER data finds a home’s value rises about 2.7% per step on the scale, with 10% to 13% between a C and an A rating.
- Separate the buying case from the rental case. Rental inflation of 9.1% is pushing tenants towards purchase, and that is a pipeline of first-time buyers.
- Watch the completion numbers rather than the commentary. If 42,000 homes complete in 2027 as forecast, the balance shifts further towards buyers.
A Slowdown That Leaves Prices Above 2023 Levels
A 5.1% annual rise is a cooling market, not a falling one, and the difference matters to anyone advising on a purchase. The annual rate has come down for three months in a row, from 6.1% in May to 5.1% in August, while the index itself has kept climbing. Falling growth and falling prices are not the same thing, and clients mix them up constantly.
For the rest of 2026 the practical read is a market with more stock, slower headline growth and a stubborn regional gap. Agents who can put the Dublin number and the Border number side by side, and who know what an energy upgrade is worth on paper, are the ones who will hold a deal together when a buyer starts quoting the national average back at them. The full data set behind the August index is published on the CSO’s own tables.
Questions Agents Ask About Irish House Prices
These come up as soon as a client sees a headline about prices falling.
Are Irish house prices falling in 2026?
No. Prices rose 5.1% in the year to August 2026, according to the CSO. The rate of growth has slowed from 6.1% in May, and asking prices dipped 1.4% between the second and third quarters, but transaction prices are still higher than a year ago.
What is the median house price in Ireland?
The median price paid for a dwelling in the twelve months to August 2026 was €400,000. Dublin’s median was €500,000 and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s was €685,000, while Longford was the cheapest county at €199,000.
Which part of Ireland is rising fastest?
The Border region, covering Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo, recorded the strongest house price growth in the year to August at 9.1%, followed by the Midlands at 8.8%. Dublin City was the slowest at 1.0%.
Are first-time buyers still active in the market?
Yes, and increasingly so. Revenue data shows 1,811 first-time buyer purchases filed in August 2026, up 12.0% on the same month in 2025, and first-time buyers accounted for 41.0% of household purchases over the twelve months.
Does an energy upgrade raise an Irish home’s value?
MyHome’s analysis of SEAI and BER data suggests a home’s value rises by about 2.7% for each step on the energy scale, with a maximum increase of 10% to 13% moving from a C rating to an A rating.
