Annual property price growth slows to 5.1% in August: CSO

Annual house price growth in August was the lowest rate in more than two and a half years, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

According to the CSO’s Residential Property Price Index (RPPI), the price of homes increased by 5.1% in the 12 months to August 2026 – down from 5.4% yearly growth the previous month.

The 5.1% increase for August was also the lowest annual rise since December 2023, when property-price inflation was 4.1%.

Today’s CSO figures show that in the year to August property prices in Dublin rose by 3.9%, with prices outside the capital were up by 6.2%.

The region outside of Dublin with the largest growth was around the border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) at 9.1%.

The CSO notes that “as of August 2026, the Residential Property Price Index outside of Dublin is more than three times higher than in May 2013, when it hit its lowest point since the series began in 2005”.

Today’s figures show that the median price of a home purchased in 12 months to August was €400,000.

The highest median price across the year was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (€685,000), with the lowest in Longford (€199,000).

The most expensive Eircode was A41 (Ballyboughal, Dublin) with a median price of €865,000.

The cheapest Eircode was F45 (Castlerea, Roscommon), where the median price of a home was €160,000.

According to the CSO, a total of 4,279 home purchases, valued at a total of €1.95 billion, were filed with Revenue in August.

Of those properties, 1,038 were new homes.

Meanwhile, Revenue data show there were 1,811 first-time buyer purchases filed during August.

Trevor Grant, chairperson of Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said that while house price growth is cooling, it is important to remember that house prices are still rising.

Mr Grant noted that in many areas, annual house price inflation is well above the 5.1% national average, particularly in Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo.

“The continued high rate of housing inflation outside the capital means that for a long time now, locals have been – and continue to be – priced out of their home towns and this is leading to huge frustration on the ground,” he said.

He said that many prospective buyers will be feeling more hopeful about their chances of buying a home after Budget 2027 measures to boost housing affordability and increase housing supply.

Ultimately, the biggest driver of Irish house price inflation is the shortage of homes and so if more houses are built on foot of the Budget, the better the prospects for would-be buyers, he added.