House Price Fall Hits Recovery Hope

Signs of recovery in the housing market have taken a hit with prices falling again.

Official figures show residential property prices fell in October by 0.6%, despite August and September boasting the first increase for two months in a row.

Overall, the national market dropped by another 8.1% in the year. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) index revealed that in Dublin residential property prices went down by 0.2% last month, and were an estimated 7% lower than a year ago.

Meanwhile, prices outside the capital fell by 0.9% and were 8.9% lower than in October 2011.

The CSO said house prices in Dublin are now 55% lower than at their highest level in early 2007 before the property bubble burst. However, the biggest difference remains in apartments in Dublin, which have dropped by 63%.

Elsewhere, there has been a 47% fall in the price of residential properties outside the capital. "Overall, the national index is 50% lower than its highest level in 2007," the CSO added.

Although the statistics body does not give actual prices, houses in Dublin were believed to be worth on average of about 431,000 euro when the bubble burst in 2007.

Industry experts have consistently warned this year that the CSO report is lagging behind the real experience on the ground, with parts of south Dublin in particular seeing growing demand during much of this year.

Source  : herald.ie 26/112012