The housing crisis is expected to ease slightly in 2026, but house prices are going to continue rising, experts warn.
Some market watchers are forecasting price rises of between 7% to 8% over the next 12 months
According to Ronan Lyons, one of the factors to be considered is that the market is likely to remain somewhat stagnant, as many homeowners, in the face of rising interest rates, have fixed their mortgages for between three and five years.
"They locked them in in 2022, so we are still in the middle of that, which means there is still quite a tight supply for second-hand homes," he explained.
"I do think there will be an easing of prices in 2026; they will be rising, but just much more slowly.
"The housing market ordinarily relies on both the second-hand and new homes markets, but since 2010, we have been almost entirely relying on the second-hand market.
"We are seeing the building of new homes happening on greenfield sites. One way people are coping is by moving away from the city centre.
"Inheritance is also becoming more important for people to be able to raise a deposit, which means it is an unfair market."
Mr Lyons said he was sceptical about the Government being able to achieve its housing target by the end of the decade.
Under the recently launched housing plan, "Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030," the Government has set a target to build at least 300,000 new homes by 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing units.
However, it has shied away from committing to annual targets.
"Last year we built 30,000 homes, but under the plan we need to double that output to 60,000 a year pretty quickly. I don't think we are going to get there," said Mr Lyons.
"We are going to see the new rent controls coming in in March that may lead to new rental homes being built, but we will have to wait till April and May to see what proposals are in for rental homes.
"We also need to be aware of what the ordinary person can afford if the minimum cost is €600,000.
"If we look at our neighbours, lots of countries have 60sqm or 65sqm apartments, which doesn't mean downgrading standards."
Mr Lyons said while he acknowledged there were no silver bullets, he would encourage the Government to introduce targeted tax breaks for the construction industry to try to improve certainty within the industry and improve supply.
He concluded: "2026 will be better. Things are slowly getting better, but I would like to see them get better at a faster rate.
"We are 250,000 in deficit, but every year the gap is getting bigger, which means we need to take bigger strides to catch up."
Chief Executive Officer of Sherry FitzGerald Group, Marian Finnegan, warned that the continued shortage in housing supply would mean further price increases in 2026.
"Ireland’s housing sector remains under pressure due to a persistent imbalance between limited supply and strong buyer demand," she explained.
"Our latest research compiled in summer 2025, revealed only 0.7% of privately owned homes—about 14,700 units—were listed for sale, still well below pre-pandemic norms despite a slight annual increase.
"New-build completions have risen modestly but remain insufficient, keeping transaction volumes stable year-on-year.
"This sustained shortage has pushed second-hand property inflation to 7.3% as of September.
"Although recent government initiatives aim to expand supply, their impact will take time.
"With a weak pipeline of future projects, property prices are expected to rise a further 6%–8% in 2026 and certain regions potentially seeing even sharper rises".
