Property asking prices continue to rise in Offaly

Property prices in Offaly have risen by over 5% in the last year, according to the latest MyHome Property Price Report.

The report for Q2 2026, in association with Bank of Ireland, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €260,000, up €13,000 over the twelve-month period, and €5,000 over the quarter.

Asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county remained unchanged in the last year at €240,000. This means prices also remained unchanged over the quarter.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a three-bed semi-detached house in Offaly rose €27,500 in the last year to €307,500. This price rose by €15,000 over the quarter.

There were 157 properties for sale in Offaly at the end of Q2 2026 – an increase of 22% over the quarter.

The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over four months.

Nationally, the report showed that annual asking price inflation has risen to 5% nationwide, bucking the trend of recent quarters.

Despite reports of stretched affordability and softer conditions at higher price points in the market, vendors and estate agents still felt sufficiently confident to raise asking prices just ahead of key summer trading season.

The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland, said that the key question now was whether buyers will actually be able to meet the elevated asking prices we are seeing.

“Our data, while surprising, does not suggest vendors are being unrealistic. Through May and June transactions were being settled 7-8% above the original asking price – if anything signalling more intense competition amongst homebuyers.”

Mr MacCoille said that while stretched affordability was becoming more apparent in the mortgage market, wages were still rising in line with house prices. “A key piece of context here is the latest data showing average earnings (AWE) were €56,000 annualised in Q1 2026, up 4.4% on the year. So, the bigger picture is still one in which house prices are rising broadly in line with wages – so that affordability is broadly steady.

“On the activity side, residential transactions in the first four months of 2026 were up 2.9% on the year, but this was entirely driven by homebuilding. A somewhat worrying feature of the market was that liquidity among the existing stock of homes is at its weakest rate since 2014, at just 2% of 2.2 million homes. This implies the average home is sold just once every 50 years.

“The underlying message here is that existing homeowners clearly feel unwilling to consider moving home – for fear of failing to secure another. The elevated cost of retrofitting an existing home may also be another impediment.”

He said that a wild card in the market was the sharp rise in ‘notices-for-termination’ of rental tenancies. “This figure is up 50% in Q1 2026 to 7,062. Given the pick-up in terminations since mid-2025, and that 60% of landlords intended to sell, this could in time add 5% to market liquidity. Clearly, here a temporary improvement in housing availability for homebuyers, would come at the expense of those seeking to rent.”

He concluded by saying that previous predictions regarding asking price inflation for 2026 may have been pessimistic. “In this context, the clear risk to our previous forecast that Irish house prices would rise by 4% looks probably to the upside.”

Joanne Geary, Managing Director of MyHome, said: “The rise in asking prices is tough news for prospective homebuyers, however we are seeing very positive signs on supply. The number of properties for sale on MyHome has jumped by 20% in the last quarter to just over 14,000 properties which should ease the fierce competition in the market. “Overall, the first-time buyers’ market is still driving activity in the market, with the median mortgage and property value among this cohort rising by a third in the last five years.

Demand remains very strong, but the recent increase in interest rates along with rising inflation will mean affordability may become more stretched.”