House prices in Offaly rising faster than anywhere else in Ireland

House prices in Offaly are rising considerably faster than anywhere else in Ireland.

According to two separate reports issued on Monday, house prices in Offaly are increasing at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country. 

A national survey by Real Estate Alliance showed that the price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in Offaly has increased to €280,000, up 7.7pc from €260,000 in the last three months. This represents an annual increase of 27pc from €220,000, the highest annual increase shown in the country this quarter. 

The daft.ie House Price Report for Q1 2025 showed that in Offaly, prices in the first three months of 2025 were 18% higher than a year previously, compared to a rise of 2% seen in the 12 months to March 2024. The average price of a home in Offaly, according to the report, is now €282,000, 56% above the level seen at the start of the covid19 pandemic.

“We are seeing a market where the shortage of supply is driving up prices,” said Donna Hynes, REA Hynes.

The REA survey shows that across the county, 75pc of purchasers were first-time buyers, while a total of 15pc of sales in the county this quarter were attributed to landlords leaving the market.

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Additionally, agents across the county reported that the BER ratings of properties saw A-rated properties command 10pc price increases in comparison to comparable C-rated properties. 

The REA Average House Price Index concentrates on the sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

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The actual selling price of a three-bed, semi-detached house across the country rose by 2.5pc in the past three months to €338,847, and 10pc overall annually.

Three-bed semis in Dublin’s suburbs are reaching sale agreed in days as a wave of mortgage approved buyers turn their focus from apartments to family homes, the survey has found.

Actual selling prices in Dublin city rose by 3pc in the last three months, and the average three-bed semi in the capital is now selling at €558,250 – a rise of almost €50,000 in the past year.

Prices in the major cities outside the capital rose by an average of 3pc to €355,250 in the last three months – an annual rate of increase of 8pc.

Homes in the country’s large towns continue to show the biggest annual growth nationwide, 2.9pc this quarter and 13pc on last March to an average of €256,576.

The absence of new home building, and historically low supply has seen three bed semi-detached homes in parts of Donegal, Kerry, Mayo, Offaly and Roscommon increase by over 23pc in the past year.

Homes in commuter counties rose by 1.9pc over the past three months to an average of €350,278, an annual rise of 9pc.