House price growth accelerated in May, increasing by 1.7pc from April, according to the latest Permanent tsb House Price Index - compiled in association with the ESRI. This follows increases of 1.0pc in national prices in March and 1.3pc for the month of April. The monthly growth rate for May 2002 was 0.5pc. In the first five months of this year national house prices have grown by 5.8pc. This compares to growth of 5.1pc in the first five months of 2002.
The year-on-year increase in national prices to end May 2003 was 14.1pc. In the twelve months to the end of April, national prices rose by 12.7pc. The average price paid for a house nationally in May of this year was E217,803. The equivalent price in May 2002 was E190,879. Commenting on the results, Niall O'Grady, head of marketing with Permanent tsb said, "So far this year we have not seen the kind of moderation in terms of price growth which we had expected to see." //www.fxcentre.com