Asking prices for residential properties have fallen by 4.7% in the last three months, according to Daft.ie. The property website says the average asking price nationally now stands at 253,000 - which is 93,000 lower than at the housing market peak in 2007. Daft's Q3 report highlights how asking prices in different regions of the around the country are adjusting at greatly varying speeds, with prices down 35% and 31% in Dublin and Meath respectively. Meanwhile, in Munster, Kerry and Tipperary are down just 20% and 16% respectively. Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Daft.ie economist, counties with larger decreases in house prices are seeing better levels of transactions than counties where the falls are lower. "These latest figures would suggest that the differences in asking prices regionally may be having an impact on the number of transactions taking place. Dublin has seen some of the greatest cuts in asking prices, and there is evidence that this is leading to a greater number of transactions, with the total number of properties for sale falling by over 12% in the last year. In Munster however, where price drops have been lower, the number of properties available for sale is still rising," he said. He added that the likelihood of a universal property tax to replace stamp duty and NAMA will be the main factors that will influence how the property market performs in the coming year. If done correctly, [property tax] may not only remove uncertainty but also stimulate a healthy level of transactions, he said. Regarding NAMA, he said: Its enormous size is likely to set benchmarks in many segments of Ireland's property market but nonetheless it cannot buck the market and the Government needs to ensure that NAMA is implemented following the most thorough research possible. |
| Read the report here |
| Download DAFT-HOUSE-PRICE-REPORT-Q3-2009.PDF (1,284 Kb, 01 Oct 2009) |
