“Sustained price increases amid significant supply side shortages”
Statement by Marian Finnegan, CEO, Sherry FitzGerald
September 29th, 2025
Sherry FitzGerald, Ireland’s largest estate agency, today reported that the average value of second-hand homes in Ireland rose by 1.8% in the third quarter of the year. Over the past 12 months, property values have risen by 7.3%, highlighting the continuing challenges in the housing market.
In Dublin, the pace of house price inflation was slower, at 1.1% in the quarter, bringing the annual increase to 6.5%. Outside of the capital, however, average values rose by 2.6% over the three-month period, bringing the increase over 12 months to 8.3%. This particularly strong price inflation outside of the capital has been driven by significant supply side shortages.
Sherry FitzGerald Research's latest bi-annual analysis highlights the ongoing shortage in available housing stock. In July 2025, just 14,715 second-hand properties were listed for sale nationwide, representing a mere 0.7% of Ireland’s private housing stock.
Although there has been an increase in the level of advertised stock from July 2024, when just 12,784 second-hand homes were available for purchase, the shortage of second-hand stock remains acute. Compared to July 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, when approximately 23,165 second-hand properties were advertised for sale, the number of second-hand homes advertised for sale this summer has declined by a significant 36.5%.
Marian Finnegan, CEO of Sherry FitzGerald, emphasises the urgency of the situation, stating, "The sustained shortage of available housing continues to place upward pressure on values, exacerbating challenges for individuals and families seeking suitable homes."
The shortage of second-hand homes is particularly pronounced in regional and rural Ireland. Several counties have seen a decline in advertised stock of over 50% when compared to July 2019, including:
- Carlow: ↓ 56.8%
- Offaly: ↓ 53.5%
- Cavan: ↓ 53.0%
Kerry, Leitrim, Longford and Tipperary have also seen advertised stock decline by over 50% in the six-year period.
Interestingly, five of the seven counties mentioned have also had low levels of new dwelling completions over the past number of years, when compared to population. This is unsurprising, given that construction activity has been largely concentrated in Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) in recent years, typically accounting for approximately 50% of all completions. However, Ireland’s growing population requires significant and evenly distributed housing development across all regions.
A review of residential transaction data for the first half of the year, the most accurate data available, shows that there were approximately 21,488 residential transactions[1] made by household buyers in the time period. This is an increase of 2.2% from the first six months of 2024. This slight uptick is driven by strong performance in the new homes market, with transactions up 19% when compared to 2024. It is important to note that this correlates to just 751 additional new homes transacting this year when compared to last, bringing the total to 4,698 new homes sold in the first six months of the year.
Transaction activity in the new homes market was concentrated in Dublin and the Mid-East in the first half of the year, accounting for 57% of all activity in the sector. With construction activity concentrated in these regions, this comes as no surprise. However, as mentioned previously, it is evident from our recent supply analysis that all areas of the country require enhanced delivery of new homes.
Turning to the second-hand residential market, transaction activity has fallen by 1.7%, with 16,790 transactions in this sector of the market in the first half of 2025. This is largely unsurprising, given the significant supply constraints which have been evident in the second-hand market over the past number of years.
Marian Finnegan noted, “It is clear that the residential market remains undersupplied. Though the policy changes and other interventions made by the government in recent months are welcomed, it will take some time for the effects of these to be felt. The upcoming Budget provides an opportunity for further incentives to increase the delivery of new homes in areas where they are needed most.”
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For any further information, please contact:
Jill O’Neill
PR Director
Sherry FitzGerald Group
Ph: 01 2376 500 / 086 252 3277
Marian Finnegan
Chief Executive Officer
Sherry FitzGerald Group
Ph: 01 237 6341 / 086 814 8251
[1] Given the nature of this data, it is likely that this figure will be revised upwards as the year progresses.
