November 2012 figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the biggest increase in property prices since the peak of the boom in 2006. During this month, house prices in Ireland went up by 1.1%, rallying from an average decrease of 0.6% the previous month. The increase was mainly attributed to the rush for first time buyers looking to avail of the Mortgage Interest Relief scheme which ended on the 31^st December last year.

Price increases have been more pronounced in Dublin than in cities outside the capital. The value of properties in Dublin jumped up by 2.4 percent in November with the value of houses alone increasing by 2.7 percent. However, the value of properties in cities and towns outside of Dublin only went up by 0.3%.

While this is good news, it remains to be seen how demand for properties in 2013 will be affected following the abolition of the interest relief. Residential prices have fallen by 50% since the collapse of the Irish property market several years ago. Moreover, October 2012 showed a decrease in overall property values which further stresses our need to be cautiously optimistic about the market going forward.