Property prices have risen between one and four per cent in the north west.
According to the latest daft.ie House Price Report for the first quarter of this year, they have gone up by 4% in Donegal, 2% in Sligo and by 1% in Leitrim.
In Donegal, prices in the first three months of 2021 were 4% higher than a year previously.
That’s compared to a rise of 3% seen a year ago.
The average price of a home in Donegal is now €156,000, 37% above its lowest point.
In Sligo, prices in the first three months of 2021 were 2% higher than a year previously.
A year ago the increase was 5%.
The average price of a home in the Yeats County is now €152,000, 45% above its lowest point.
In Leitrim, prices were 1% higher than a year previously, compared to a fall of 3% seen a year ago.
The average price of a home in Leitrim is now €133,000, 55% above its lowest point.
Speaking on the market overall, the report’s author, Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College, Dublin, says a sudden collapse in supply — at a time when demand held up well — has resulted in sharp upward pressure on prices.
With an increased interest in properties outside the main urban areas, interest in property in the north west is likely to grow, with an expected consequent increase in price.
But for those hoping to work more from home, one of the chief considerations will be the quality of broadband connectivity.
And with a scarcity of available housing in some rural towns and villages, auctioneers and local councillors say the government will have to deal with a number of issues that impact on people hoping to build in rural areas.
