House prices in the county continue to increase according to new figures.

In the first half of this year, Roscommon saw a 2.66 per cent increase in the three bedroom home category; an increase of 4.22 per cent in the four bedroom category and a drop of 2.53 per cent in apartments.

However, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) said that prices nationwide are stabilising but reform is needed.
The latest IPAV Residential Property Price Barometer showed that between January and June overall house prices in the county increased by 1.45%.

Between January to June, the average house price for a three bed semi detached house in Roscommon was €178,750, an increase of €4,625 on prices in the latter half of 2022.

The average price for a four bed semi detached house was €205,500, an increase of €8,312 on July to December 2022.

However, the average price of a two bed apartment fell in the first half of this year according to IPAV, going from €98,750 in the last six months of 2022 to €96,250 in 2023.

IPAV Chief Executive Pat Davitt said the forthcoming October Budget will need to contain unprecedented measures to arrest the housing crisis and the “resultant seismic shift in our demographics”.

He said home ownership must become more affordable for younger age cohorts in particular. “We’re still seeing private landlords fleeing the market and those on average incomes largely excluded from buying homes because of the very restrictive mortgage rules of recent years and now rising interest rates.”

He said urgent Government consideration needs to be given to options, beyond pillar banks, for making low interest rate mortgages widely available. While Credit Unions are entering the mortgage market it is unclear, as yet, the extent of their involvement or their capacity to service the market.

“Home ownership is of such a critical nature to our society that we believe, there is a strong rationale for treating mortgage provision, separate to other forms of lending.

“Were it not for the Help-to-Buy and First Home schemes, the current situation would be much worse. 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 said: “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 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.