Daft Property - Irish Property News

HOUSE prices in Dublin have gone into a 60pc freefall from their peak and are now at levels last seen in 2002. The cost of buying a home in Dublin fell by 16pc in June compared to the same period last year. In real terms, Dublin house prices have fallen by 60.2pc, from the peak of the market in 2006, according to Sherry FitzGerald estate agents. The national market has corrected by 55.2pc and the average cost of a second-hand house in Ireland dropped by 15.3pc. First-time buyers remain the most active sector in the market, accounting for almost one-third of the properties traded in the year to date. Chief economist Marian Finnegan with Sherry FitzGerald said the falls placed the Irish property recession as one of the most significant recessions in the post-war era. "Accelerating deflation in the property market cycle is somewhat contradictory as the factors underpinning the market have strengthened with improved affordability and relatively tight supply, particularly for

The design of the first bridge across the border between the Republic and the North was revealed yesterday... The 280-metre-long cable-stayed bridge will link Narrow Water near Warrenpoint in Co Down with Cornamucklagh in Omeath, Co Louth, and has been designed so it is safe for cyclists and pedestrians. It is nearly 29 years since Narrow Water became synonymous with the single worst loss of life of British soldiers in the Troubles when two IRA bombs killed 18 soldiers. One civilian was also killed. The bridge has a tower at each end. The higher 100-metre-tall one is on the southern side, which will have the Cooley and Mourne mountains as a backdrop; while the lower tower at 30 metres will be on the northern end and will compliment the Drumlin topography there. Tony Dempsey, from consultant engineers Roughan O'Donovan, told councillors at meetings in Dundalk and Newry the criteria for selecting the bridge design included the impact on the environment and ecology as well as on the