THE actual sale price of three-bedroom houses in Mayo have risen by 3.36 percent in a year.

According to the latest Residential Property Price Barometer, Mayo saw an-above average increase in the sale price achieved by auctioneers for three- and four-bedroom houses and two-bedroom apartments.

Nationwide, the average sale price of these property types in the first six months of 2023 rose 2.05 percent compared with 2.44 percent in the previous six months. 

Mayo saw three-bedroom homes increase in price by 3.36 percent in the period to €205,000.

The county also topped the four-bedroom homes category with an increase of 5.97 percent to €236,667. It also saw the second highest price rise in the two-bedroom apartment category with a 5.40 percent increase to €130,000.

IPAV Chief Executive Pat Davitt said the housing shortage would be ‘much worse’ were it not for the Help-to-Buy and First Home schemes.

“What we need is not State schemes to counter the problems created elsewhere in the housing system but a direct, long-term system of lending that gives more certainty over the lifetime of a mortgage,” he said.

Mr Davitt added: “As bank profits soar for the first six months of this year one cannot help but feel it’s a lopsided equation whereby the interest of lenders supersedes those of consumers, despite the Central Bank having a dual role under legislation to protect both.”

The recently published ESRI study: Housing Affordability: Ireland in a Cross-Country Context found that while Ireland has the fourth highest rate of home ownership for households aged over 40 across the 15 countries analysed, it has only the tenth highest rate for households aged below 40. Ireland was found to have one of the biggest gaps in ownership rates between younger and older generations, second only to Greece.