House Prices Still Falling...

House prices still falling - Dublin tops the list...

House prices in Dublin are nearly 47pc off their peak in early 2007 compared with 39pc in the rest of the country, according to the Central Statistics Office.

In the year to June, residential property prices at a national level fell by 12.9pc.

This compares with an drop of 12.2% in May and a decrease of 12.4pc recorded in the twelve months to June 2010.

In Dublin, residential property prices decreased by 2.4pc in June and were 12.6pc down compared with a year ago.

House prices in the capital fell by 2.4pc last month and were 11.9pc lower on an annual basis.

But economists believe that while the jobs market remains weak, within five years house prices should improve but very slowly.

“The bottom line is that the property market remains very ‘soft’ at the moment,” said Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Bloxham Stockbrokers.

“ But looking further ahead, we think house prices should increase on a five-year view as the labour market improve.

“That said, the level of any rise over the next few years is only likely to be in single digits as banks adopt a more cautious stance to lending than in the ‘Celtic Tiger’ era, interest rates return to ‘normal’ and the introduction of a property tax for ‘principal’ homes of residence all weigh negatively on the market.”

Report - Irish Independent