PROPERTY prices have continued to surge, piling on more pressure on would-be new buyers.

And those able to buy are getting older and are mostly buying with a partner.

In April prices across the country shot up by 4.5pc nationally, as the squeeze on supply and pent-up demand drove values higher.

This was the fastest pace of house inflation in more than two years.

In Dublin prices were up by 3.5pc, and by 5.4pc outside Dublin, according to the Central Statistics Office.

Households paid a median, or typical, price of €265,000 for a home in the year to April.

The Dublin region had the highest median price at €390,000.

And in a separate report on the characteristics of buyers the CSO found that buyers are becoming older, more a buying jointly with a partner, while the typical income of joint purchasers was €81,500 in 2019.

The changing characteristics of buyers reflects the high cost of housing, the difficulty getting mortgage approval and tight supply.

The typical age for joint purchases has risen from 35 in 2010 to 38 in 2019.

The median age of solo purchasers rose from 34 to 42 years over the same period.

Some 62pc were joint purchases in 2019, up from 47pc in 2010, the CSO said.

In 2019, the highest median price paid by joint purchasers was €565,000 in Dún Laoghaire, while the lowest was €130,000 in Leitrim.

Typical incomes of a joint purchaser was €81,500 in 2019. This is for people with children.

This compares with a sole purchaser where the median income was €42,600.

Statisticians said €77,900 was the typical income for joint purchasers without children.

For sole purchasers without children the median income was €43,000

Those with children who bought in 2019 had a typical income of €40,100.

Nine out of 10 people who said their address was in Cork at the time of purchase managed to buy I Cork, with a similar trend found in Dublin.

This was between 2010 to 2019.

One in four people who bought a property in Donegal gave an address outside the state, mostly in Northern Ireland.

The CSO said that in the year to April, 39,165 homes were bought.

Of these, a third were purchases by first time buyer owner-occupiers, while former owner-occupiers purchased 54pc.

The balance of 5,408, or13.8pc, were acquired by non-occupiers. This category includes cuckoo funds, local authorities and State-supported housing bodies.

The CSO said Revenue data shows that there were 936 first-time buyer purchases in April 2021, an increase of 16.1pc on the 806 recorded in April last year.

Meanwhile, there have been calls for a Government strategy to help renters.

It comes after it was revealed that more than 1,100 households have been served with eviction notices over the last 10 months despite a Government ban on people losing their homes.

The ban on evictions has been lifted prompting fears families face evictions.

Figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) show that since last August, 3,800 households have been served with rent arrears warning notices.

Some 1,122 have been issued with notices of termination of their rental tenancy, according to figures obtained by the ‘Irish Examiner’.

Labour’s Rebecca Moynihan called for a comprehensive housing strategy for renters.

She called for moves to give renters through greater security of tenure, a short-term rent freeze and a State-led approach to building more affordable housing.