Irish house price inflation six times higher than EU average

Property rises in Ireland are now rising at a higher rate than anywhere else in the EU, according to figures from Eurostat.

The agency’s latest property price barometer indicates house prices here rose by 15 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September last year, more than six times the EU average of 2.3 per cent.

The next highest increase in house prices was in Estonia (+13.2 per cent), followed by Latvia and the UK (both +11.7 per cent), Sweden (+10.3 per cent) and Lithuania (+10.1 per cent).

Meanwhile, the largest price drops were in Slovenia (-5.4 per cent), Italy (-3.8 per cent) and Romania (-2.3 per cent).

House prices across the 19-member euro zone went up by just 0.5 per cent during the period.

Eurostat's quarterly House Price Index is compiled via national statistical agencies- in Ireland's case, the Central Stastics Office (CSO).

It indicated Ireland also recorded the highest quarterly increase in house prices of 6.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2014, ahead of Latvia (+4.9 per cent) and Croatia (+4.7 per cent).

The figures comes as the Central Bank considers new measures to curb mortgage lending.

The bank signalled three months ago it intended to introduce restrictions which could require home buyers to have a deposit at least 20 per cent of the purchase price.

However, the Central Bank is under pressure from Government and others to water down its initial proposals.

The latest monthly figures from the CSO showed while house prices continued to rise nationally in November they fell in Dublin for the first time in several months.

Some observers blamed the fall on the Central Bank’s move to introduce lending curbs.