Average house price for first-time buyers hits €250,000

The average price of a house for first-time buyers has passed the quarter of a million mark for the first time, according to the latest Permanent TSB/ESRI House Price Index.

The average price paid by a first time buyer rose by 0.7 per cent in January to €251,281

The index shows the average price paid by a first time buyer rose by 0.7 per cent in January to €251,281.

The annual growth rate in house prices as a whole in January this year was 10.2 per cent, up from 9.3 per cent in December and 8.5 per cent recorded in January 2005.

House prices rose by 1.2 per cent in January unchanged from the increases recorded in the last three months of 2005.

Permanent TSB's Niall O'Grady said: "National house prices at the start of 2006 have continued to grow at the same pace as was witnessed in the final months of last year, with some variations on this across the different market sectors."

He said: "The year on year growth rate of 10.2 per cent is consistent with our forecast of annual growth of around 10 per cent for this year."

The index shows the cost of houses in Dublin rose by 1.2 per cent in January, while those outside Dublin rose by 1.5 per cent. But growth rates as high as 1.9 per cent were recorded in several Dublin commuter counties.

The average price paid for a house nationally in January was €281,197, up almost €,500 on that recorded in December.

The average price paid for a house in Dublin was €373,096 compared with €243,826 in the rest of the country. The equivalent prices in December 2005 were €368,576 and €240,201.