Increasing numbers of Irish home buyers are objecting to older and less well insulated homes on grounds of environmental ethics.

Estate agents countrywide are highlighting how the 'green wave' is now affecting home purchase choices and cite increasing concern for the planet among younger professionals who also glean economic benefits from acquiring a better insulated house.

Some buyers will now only consider BER A performing homes as an ethical choice.

It's one of the many new factors influencing buyer decision-making and affecting prices highlighted today in 'How Much Is Your House Worth? 2020', the Irish Independent's annual nationwide survey of 64 local property markets.

The survey looks at the local value performance of every property type and values every Irish home type.

Also affecting buyers' decisions is the increased cost of renovations and the difficulty in sourcing builders, which has an impact also on demand for larger and older property. New home supply has cooled prices in some areas but where shortage still exists prices continue to inflate. Brexit has hit some markets hard while Central Bank lending regulations are a big factor in those areas where prices are approaching the affordability ceiling for average earners.

Published with today's Irish Independent, and based on interviews with more than 70 local experts, the survey showed prices are both rising and falling across the country, depending on location - but increasingly, based on property type.

In some locations, properties can be both rising and falling in value simultaneously on the same street.

The average home in the 64 markets surveyed has seen its value increase by 3pc on a year ago, but some locations saw hikes of as much as 12pc (Donegal) while others saw values slide by up to 3pc (South Co Dublin). Many markets saw no change.

The highest average price is in Dublin 6 (€850,000) and the lowest price nationwide is €140,000 for a home in Co Leitrim.

Irish Independent