The cost of housing is severely unaffordable and home ownership among adults of prime working age has collapsed, according to a housing report.
The research by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows average wages increased by 23 per cent between 2012 and 2020, while house prices rose by 77 per cent.
It found high prices are pushing buyers out of the market into rental accommodation, social housing or emigration.
Here in Cork figures from myhome.ie show the average price for a four bed semi detached house in the city now stands at €325,000, an increase of 15,000 from the third quarter of the year.
In the County, the median price of a three bedroom house is now 255,000, up five thousand euro.
Chair of Liveable Limerick, John Moran, says while housing supply is increasing it will take some time before prices come down:
"The good thing about this report, I suppose I should say first, is that at least we're getting facts and facts are really important to come up with the right solutions. What we're seeing in this report is not surprising to anyone who's been watching it - people under 30, the number of people buying houses has dropped from 60% to 27%. I mean, that's a shocking, sort of, drop."
