Hope for homebuyers as annual asking price inflation slows to softest pace in over three years

Annual asking price inflation has slowed to its softest pace in over three years, according to the Q3 2026 Property Report from MyHome in association with Bank of Ireland.

The rate of annual asking price inflation nationwide is now 3.9%. This is the softest rate of inflation since Q2 2023, when the figure was 2.2%.  

Separately, homebuilding has hit a new milestone, with total accommodation capacity of the 38,000 homes built in the year to June comfortably outpacing population growth for the first time. This – along with a 12.5% year-on-year increase in homes listed for sale on MyHome and the €5,000 increase in the Help-to-Buy Scheme in Budget 2027 – is positive news for homebuyers.  

The rental sector has also been supported in Budget 2027 by an increase in Rent-a-Room Relief and the rent tax credit. 

Key findings: 

The MyHome report for Q3 2026 found that annual asking price inflation was 3.9% nationwide. Annual asking price inflation in Dublin is now 2.1% and the rate is 4.8% in the rest of Ireland.  

Meanwhile, the report found asking prices nationally fell by 1.4% on the quarter, by 2.3% in Dublin and by 1% in the rest of the country. 

This means the median asking price for new instructions nationally was €390,000 in Q3. In Dublin it was €480,000 and in the rest of the country it was €349,000.  

Other findings include:

• Summer momentum in house prices will likely peter out during the winter, suggesting we are almost exactly on track to see our prediction of a 4% increase in sales prices for 2026 realised. 

• The number of properties listed for sale on MyHome at end-September was 14,630, up 12.5% on the year. Moreover, there have been 10,400 new listings for sale on MyHome since June, which is up 5.3% year-on-year.  

• The 38,000 homes built in the year to June can accommodate over 100,000 people – substantially exceeding population growth of 67,000 over the same period. We are sticking with our forecast of 39,600 completions in 2026, rising to 42,000 in 2027. 

• Affordability remains stretched, with current sold prices now 7.7 times’ average earnings. However, it still makes more financial sense to buy rather than rent, with rental yields still outpacing mortgage rates.  

• SEAI/MyHome BER analysis shows that the value of a typical home rises by 2.7% for each step on the scale – with maximum increase of 10-13% going from C-rated to A-rated home 

• First-time buyer mortgage lending volumes were up 6.6% on the year, while mover mortgages were down by 4.1%. Remarkably, first-time buyers now account for three in four mortgages sold in Ireland. 

• The annual rental inflation rate is 9.1% – the strongest pace since mid-2023.

Analysis: 

The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland, said that the report signalled good news for homebuyers. “The rate of asking price inflation continues to slow, the number of properties for sale on MyHome is rising, and homebuilding has picked up. All of these factors point to positive news for homebuyers.”  

He noted that this report also focused on property affordability. “While it makes more financial sense to buy rather than rent, affordability is clearly problematic for many homebuyers. The median residential property price at €412,000 is now 7.7 times’ average pay of €54,000. However, the typical joint income of first-time buyers in 2025 was €95,000, purchasing a property worth €408,000, equivalent to four times’ their income.” 

Mr MacCoille said that energy efficiency was obviously a concern for many homebuyers, pointing to recent research by MyHome and the SEAI suggesting that home prices increase for every step on the BER scale. “The maximum price uplift from moving from C-rated homes to A-rated was estimated to be in the range 10-13%, even after accounting for other key factors such as house type and location. That said, the uplift can be smaller in more expensive urban areas, with just a 1.8% increase for each point on the BER scale in Dublin.  

“The SEAI findings point to a more positive impact onto house prices than previous studies perhaps because homebuyers are now more conscious of energy efficiency – specifically, energy savings and reduced exposure to volatile household electricity and gas charges.” 

He concluded by saying that MyHome was almost exactly on track for our forecast that the official CSO measure of transaction prices, the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI), will see a 4% rise through 2026. He added that MyHome has left its forecast for housing completions unchanged at 39,600 in 2026 and 42,000 in 2027, noting that was still a far better outlook than many commentators had suggested just 12-18 months ago.   

Joanne Geary, Managing Director of MyHome, said that this report represented good news for homebuyers but noted that there is still a wide discrepancy between the first-time buyer and mover markets. “First-time buyer transactions are up by 12% year-on-year while mover transactions have fallen by 1.2%,” she said.  

“This discrepancy is also evident in the mortgage lending market, where first-time buyer lending volumes were up 6.6% to 12,567 loans but the mover market was down 4.1% to 3,785 loans. Remarkably, first-time buyers now account for three-in-four mortgages which is a notable trend we will continue to monitor in the months ahead.”