Will brexit affect house prices in Ireland?

No one can doubt that house prices in Ireland are again rising.

It appears Ireland is up between 45-50% from its lowest point 5 years ago. It is also generally accepted that Dublin has seen the biggest increases whilst areas furthest from the capital have seen the smallest.

Part of the reason for this could be Brexit. We are the closest English-speaking nation to the UK and many firms have already made the jump to our shores; it is evitable that the majority will end up in our primate city; the same city that is seeing the largest price increases.

Many of the commercial areas within Dublin are again experiencing a lack of commercial office space. This lack is mirrored by the lack of residential supply in the popular new Dublin hubs such as the Grand Canal dock area.

A lack of supply means of course prices are increasing. In the areas immediately surrounding our capital the property price increases, whilst perhaps not as pronounced, are still significant.

We see a much different picture when we move further away though. Looking at border areas which are furthest from Dublin but closer to large UK towns and cities the property rises are far more modest.

Areas such as Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal are seeing very modest price increases as they recognize Brexit will surely have an effect here.

The full economic consequences of Brexit for Ireland are still unknown.

Negotiations regarding Ireland’s ‘special relationship’ with the UK are ongoing. It is generally agreed that Ireland losing access to its main trading will have a negative effect but this will not be across the board.

House prices in Ireland are increasing and will likely do so for the next few years. Perhaps they would have done so more if not for Brexit but for now the effect does not appear significant.