With house prices in Ireland continuing to rise sharply, some buyers may be tempted to sit out the pandemic-induced bull market. The danger in waiting, however, is even higher prices and, according to Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary, there will be continued property price growth in Ireland, not just in the year ahead but in the years ahead.

Writing in his latest report on the Irish housing market, O’Leary stated that for 2021 he expects prices to rise by a significant 12.5%, followed by a further 5% in 2022 and 4% in 2023.

Such projections would add €63,366, or 22.5%, to the cost of an average home in Ireland, bringing it up to €343,729 by 2023, up from €280,363 at the end of 2020.

To secure the average home mortgage, O’Leary says that a potential buyer would need their salary to grow by about €17,000 by 2023, to reach an income, combined or otherwise, of €88,387. For a first-time buyer this would add €6,336 to the average deposit – or double that for a trader-upper, who’ll need a 20% deposit. Not only that, but to secure the average home a potential buyer would also need their salary to grow by about €17,000 between now and then, to reach an income, combined or otherwise, of €88,387. This is based on the Central Bank of Ireland’s multiple of 3.5 times income.