Leitrim is the county with the lowest median price at €190,000, it was shown this week, with new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) that track the median property price in each county and how it compares to prices in previous months.
The report shows that prices are rising faster outside of Dublin than within it with property prices rising by 6.6% in that period, while prices outside Dublin have increased by 8.8%.
Speaking to Leitrim Observer, IPAV President, Longford auctioneer Fintan McGill, Houses are selling at least 10% above asking price at the same time. House prices in Leitrim were coming from a very low place.
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Asked why house prices are so low in the county, Mr McGill said that he believed this was down to due to location. "It's that much further out of Dublin and that's what I put it down to. However, I must say an awful lot of inquiries are now coming from Dublin. People actually want the peace and quiet and I do think prices in Leitrim will rise and rise rapidly over the coming months and years because people want to get out of the rat race of Dublin and come down here. We've had several inquiries and even people coming in the door. We've had a lot of people saying what a lovely place Carrick-on-Shannon is and that it's a beautiful place to live with lovely restaurants and a lot going for it. I think people are only catching on to what people are really like. It's the gem in the middle of the country that people don't actually know about."
The figures show that property prices nationwide have increased at an average of 7.8% compared with June 2024 and the highest house price growth in Dublin was in Fingal at 8%.
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Mr Gill continued that views have begun to change about leaving the cities behind for the countryside since working remotely become the norm. "Another good development is the new bypass from Mullingar to Rooskey; when that is done, it will bring traffic further and faster more easily. There are eight trains a day from here to Dublin which is great but I would to see an express train that wouldn't make 22 stops on the way to Dublin and just stopped in the county towns; that would bring even more in but there is fantastic broadband here and working remotely. It has everything going for it and it will only go one way and that's up. It is the gem in the country don't really know about yet."
Overall, the median price of a dwelling purchased between last June and this June was €370,000.
Roscommon had a median price of €197,000 while Longford properties were at €205,000.
