Annual asking price inflation for homes has slowed to its softest pace in over three years, according to a new housing report.
The latest property report from MyHome - covering the third quarter of the year - indicates that asking prices nationally between July and September were 3.9% higher than a year earlier, which was the lowest growth since Q2 2023 (when the figure was 2.2%).
Continuing an established trend, the research found that yearly asking-price growth in Q3 for homes outside Dublin (+2.1%) was considerably lower than for the rest of the country (+4.8%).
However, the report suggests that on a quarterly basis, asking prices fell by 1.4% nationally (-2.3% for Dublin, -1% for rest of Ireland).
According to MyHome, this means the median asking price for a home nationally was €390,000 for the July-September period.
When broken down by region, the property website found that the median price for Dublin was €480,000 and €349,000 outside the capital.
The research also notes there has been a 12.5% year-on-year increase in homes listed for sale on the MyHome portal to 14,630, adding that this comes as homebuilding has "hit a new milestone, with total accommodation capacity of the 38,000 homes built in the year to June comfortably outpacing population growth for the first time".
Though, the survey suggests that affordability "remains stretched, with current sold prices now 7.7 times' average earnings.
"However, it still makes more financial sense to buy rather than rent, with rental yields still outpacing mortgage rates," it said.
According to the findings, the annual rental inflation rate in Q3 was 9.1% - the strongest pace since mid-2023.
In terms of the amount of value added to a property by an energy upgrade, the research indicates that "SEAI/MyHome BER analysis shows that the value of a typical home rises by 2.7% for each step on the scale - with maximum increase of 10-13% going from C-rated to A-rated home".
Report author and Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland Conall MacCoille said the report "signals good news for homebuyers".
"The rate of asking price inflation continues to slow, the number of properties for sale on MyHome is rising, and homebuilding has picked up. All of these factors point to positive news for homebuyers," he said.
Regarding the affordability findings, Mr MacCoille said "while it makes more financial sense to rent rather than buy, affordability is clearly problematic for many homebuyers".
"The median residential property price at €412,000 (selling price) is now 7.7 times’ average pay of €54,000.
"However, the typical joint income of first-time buyers in 2025 was €95,000, purchasing a property worth €408,000, equivalent to four times’ their income," he said.
He added that "MyHome is almost exactly on track for our forecast that the official CSO measure of transaction prices, the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI), will see a 4% rise through 2026."
MyHome left its forecast for housing completions unchanged at 39,600 in 2026 and 42,000 in 2027, with Mr MacCoille noting that was "still a far better outlook than many commentators had suggested just 12-18 months ago".
