Kilkenny property prices rise by €6,000 in Q3, latest report shows

Property prices in Kilkenny have risen by €6,000 during the quarter, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Price Report. 

The report for Q3 2023, in association with Davy, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €245,000. This means prices have stayed flat compared with this time last year. 

Asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €2,500 over the quarter to €225,000. This means that prices in the segment have risen by €10,000 compared to this time last year. 

Meanwhile, the asking price for a four-bed semi-detached house in Kilkenny fell by €5,000 over the quarter to €295,000. This price is down by €15,000 compared to this time last year.

There were 291 properties for sale in Kilkenny at the end of Q3 2023 – a decrease of 4% over the quarter. The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at nearly three and a half months.  

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The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said: “The period of falling house prices we saw earlier in the year has come to an end, with the underlying imbalance between demand and supply providing fresh impetus to the market.” 

He said that housing demand had remained resilient, despite interest rate hikes. “That competition for homes is heating up is evident in the 3% premium over the asking price that buyers were prepared to pay in September, up from 1% at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, in July the average mortgage approval was €298,800, up 4% on the year, lending volumes up 18% on 2022.” 

He said Ireland had avoided the house price declines seen in the UK and other countries for two reasons. “First off, the Irish economy has performed far better with employment already 12% above pre-pandemic level, an extraordinary pace of job creation. Hence, housing demand has remained robust. Second, the Irish housing market has been less liquid than other countries, so less vulnerable to the unexpected rise in ECB rates," he said.

However, he noted that supply was still a major issue.

“The figures suggest any period of catch-up for housing activity following the Covid19 pandemic is now over. Worryingly, homebuyers may have to reconcile themselves to this tighter market,” he said. 

Mr MacCoille added that while we saw 28,900 housing starts in the year to July, we needed 40,000-50,000 units annually to address our pent-up demand.