A race to beat the January 1 changes to mortgage tax relief helped boost house sales 19% in October compared with the previous month.

In total, 8,507 properties changed hands last month compared with 7,143 in September. However, sales are still down 10% on a year ago, the land registry office Kadaster said.
The average price paid in October was €214,500, down €23,000 on a year ago.
From January 1, people buying a house will only be able to deduct the interest on repayment mortgages from tax. Other popular types of mortgage will no longer qualify.
The new government is also planning to reduce the amount of tax relief from 2014.
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