The number of house sales in Dublin increased by 5.9% in 2018 and the value rose by 17.7% to €8.7 billion, the latest residential data analysis shows.

The number of house sales rose in 14 of Dublin’s 22 postcodes, while it fell in eight and sales also rose in County Dublin, according to the research carried out by MyHome.ie.

For the second year in a row, Dublin 15 was the postal district with the largest number of sales during the year, followed by Dublin 18 and Dublin 24, with the rise being attributed to a lot of new housing developments.

The post codes which recorded the biggest increases were Dublin 9, up 42%, Dublin 22 up 27% and Dublin 10 up 22% while the value of sales in Dublin 8 increased by over 122% due in the main to the sale of two large developments on Clancy Quay.

At the other end of the scale, the postcodes which recorded the biggest fall in the number of sales were Dublin 20 down by 40%, Dublin 1 down 35% and Dublin 2 down 18%). The falls were due to the sale of a number of large developments in these areas in 2017.

According to Angela Keegan, managing director of MyHome.ie, the figures reflected a number of important trends. ‘This is the third year in a row that Dublin 15 has had the highest number of sales and the second year in a row that Dublin 18 and 24 have occupied second and third place respectively. In light of current supply shortages, it is positive to see new developments coming to the market,’ she said.

‘However, the downside is that the city is sprawling out beyond the M50 at an alarming rate and that raises a host of questions around public transportation policy, commute times and the kind of city we want to live in.”

“We believe we need to look at building higher in certain parts of the city and to providing incentives to build in other towns and cities which haven’t benefited from the economic recovery,’ she added.

She pointed out that Dublin accounts for roughly a third of the Irish property market and while the number of sales is continuing to increase, the rate of increase is slowing. In 2017 the number of sales fell in just four postcodes. Last year this figure was eight.

The data also shows that Dublin 20 recorded the biggest decrease in the number of sales with a fall of 40% and the lowest number of sales of any postcode at just 87.

Sales in County Dublin rose by 14%. Lucan in West Dublin led the way on 681 sales, followed by Swords on 579 and Dun Laoghaire on 544.