Dublin house prices fall by almost half their value as apartments drop even more

Analysts offer little short term optimism for Irish property market

The CSO report states that the index is: “Mix-adjusted to allow for the fact that different types of property are sold in different periods. In order to smooth out short-term volatility the index is based on a three-month rolling average.”

Commenting on the new figures, Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Bloxham Stockbrokers, offered little hope for optimism as regards the Irish property market.

He told the Irish Times that: “Given weak labor market conditions and the continuing lack of available bank credit, it is hard to be optimistic on the prospects for the property market in the immediate future.”

McQuaid was more optimistic about a rise in property values in the medium term.

He added: “The bottom line is that the property market remains very ‘soft’ at the moment, and is likely to remain that way for some months to come.

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

“That said, the level of any rise over the next few years is only likely to be in low 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.”

The full CSO report on the Irish property market is available on www.cso.ie

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Nster.com