Daft Property - Irish Property News

House prices fall 20pc but owners still battling to sell... THE average asking price of a house in Ireland has plummeted by almost 20pc over the past year, a new survey has revealed. And asking prices for residential property in Dublin's city centre have been slashed by almost a third, compared to the same period 12 months ago. A report by property website Daft.ie reveals that asking prices for residential property fell almost 6pc nationwide in the second quarter of the year, a significantly larger drop than in the first three months and in line with falls in late 2008. Dublin continues to be worst affected by tumbling house prices -- the average price tag on a home in the capital is 27pc lower than the 2007 peak, while prices for city centre houses have fallen by 34pc. During April, May and June of this year, homes in the city centre fell a further 11pc, compared to a 4pc drop for houses in Cork, 6pc in Limerick and a fall of just over 2pc for homes in Galway and Waterford cities

Try it, and if you like it, then buy it... Could a rent-to-buy housing scheme that helps first-time buyers get on the ladder help stabilise the new homes market, asks Róisín Carabine... A rent-to-buy scheme that allows prospective buyers to lease a new home with the option to buy later, using part of the rent towards the purchase, is growing in popularity with first-time buyers and developers as the credit crunch worsens and residential sales stagnate. Seán Power of Rent2Buy in Ballincollig, who first introduced the scheme to Ireland three years ago, says interest has more than doubled in the last few weeks, with 1,200 first-time buyers now registered on its database. "Of those who have recently signed up, the majority – around one in six – want to buy and live in and around Dublin. We've a number of buyers particularly interested in the Swords area," says Power, who plans to match 1,000 prospective buyers with homes in 2009. The scheme was first launched at The Beeches,