The Daft.ie report says that asking prices nationally rose by an average of 8.5% in 2015. Asking prices in Dublin in 2015 rose by an average of 2.7% however this is far below the 18% increase in some counties on the southern and western seaboard. This report shows that there may be a two tier property market developing nationally.

The report looked at how this two tier system has developed and it suggested that it may be as a result of the impact of the Central bank lending rules. The lending rules introduced new regulations which apply proportionate limits to mortgage lending by regulated financial services providers in the Irish market. The measures introduce proportionate limits for loan to value and loan to income measurements for both primary dwelling houses and buy to let mortgages as follows:

1.    Primary dwelling house (PDH) mortgages for non-first time buyers are subject to a limit of 80 per cent LTV;

2.    For first time buyers of properties valued up to €220,000, a maximum LTV of 90 per cent will apply. For first time buyers of properties over €220,000 a 90 per cent limit will apply on the first €220,000 value of a property and an 80 per cent limit will apply on any excess value over this amount;

3.    The cumulative monetary value of loans for principal dwelling purposes which breach either of these limits should not exceed 15 per cent of the euro value of all PDH loans on an annual basis;

4.    PDH mortgage loans are subject to a limit of 3.5 times loan to gross income;

5.    Buy to Let (BTL) mortgages are subject to a limit of 70 per cent LTV.

Property prices in Dublin are generally considerably higher than prices in the rest of the country and the requirement to have a 20% deposit for balance property values above €220,000 is an onerous requirement on house buyers.

The report looks at property supply shortages and analyses the stock of houses for sale, which is at a nine year low.