House prices in Ireland more than doubled in 2021, rising 8.44% compared to a 3.24% increase in house prices the previous year. In terms of sales, the number of homes sold rose by 16.7% to 44,221 units whereas in 2020 house sales fell 16.3%, according to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO). Last year saw sales value improve by approximately 27.9% y-o-y to EUR 14.5 billion in 2021.
Despite strong demand, the pace of residential housing construction is lagging. In 2021, house completions totalled 20,433, down 0.5%, compared to a 2.5% decline the previous year.
Meanwhile, rental yields are excellent at 7.18%. A 120sqm Dublin apartment worth EUR 282,451 can command a rental of EUR 1,690 per month.
In terms of economic growth, positive performance by multinational sectors such as information/ communications technology, pharmaceutical, and med-tech manufacturing contributed to a boost of 15.5% y-o-y in 2021. Companies in these sectors benefit from Ireland’s open economy and low tax inversion rate (12.5%).
In 2020, Ireland recorded the only positive growth in the European Union (EU) despite slowing to 5.9%. This is just over half the country’s annual average economic growth (10%) from 2014 to 2019.
According to the European Commission, the Irish economy should grow by 5.5% in 2022 and by a further 4.5% in 2023.