The average price of a new house in 2002 was €198,087, according to the Housing Statistics Bulletin, published by the Department of the Environment this afternoon. This was up 8.3% on the previous year.
The price of a new house in Dublin was €256,109, up 5.4%. The average price outside the main urban areas was €179,936.
The average price of a second-hand house was €227,799 with second-hand houses in Dublin averaging €297,424 - an increase of 11% in a year. In the last three months of 2002, the average price in Dublin rose to €318,694.
The Environment figures also reveal that the total value of loan payments made by all agencies, banks and local authorities was €10.8 billion, up 41% up on 2001's figures. The value of loan approvals grew by 64% to €14.4 billion.
The bulletin shows that a record 57,695 houses and apartments were built last year, up 9.7% on 2001. Local authority housing output was just over 5,000, the highest level for 16 years.
