The very top end of the housing market has cooled noticeably. Houses in the £1.5 million-plus (€1.9m-plus) bracket which were being bought by "dot.com millionaires" and others are now taking longer to sell, and banks are lending fewer and fewer really large-scale mortgages.

Ever since the bubble burst in the high-tech Nasdaq stockmarket, banks and estate agents have noticed a rapid cooling off in demand. As a result some of the big banks have noticed a swift decline in the number of high mortgages which were being taken out to fund these homes.

The number of auctions has also declined, although more homes are being put on the market "quietly", with no billboard up to advertise the sale. Some sellers are keen to avoid a flop at auction, while a private treaty sale has negative connotations for many who are used to thinking of good homes going to auction.

Banks are also far less enthusiastic about lending to technology millionaires and are more comfortable now with those from the established professions and businesses.

Those who are taking out large mortgages still need large amounts of assets, and often funding is done through exercising share options. But the banks insist that share options themselves are no use. It must be cash in hand, and the current falls in the stockmarkets point to the sense of that policy, they say.

They are also more likely to lend to those in established professions. "Dot.com people now represent risk," one banker says.

But many professionals have put their house-buying plans on hold. Bankers note that the number of wealthy lawyers, accountants and business people has not diminished. But many who have mortgage approval are sitting tight, waiting to see what happens to the market.

They may have a point, as there are instances of houses coming back by as much as £100,000 (€126,970) from what would have been expected only last April. Banks have seen some instances where customers hoping to get around £700,000 (€888,820) for a home ended up with just under £600,000 (€761,840).

So far there has not been a significant impact in the middle range of homes, which the banks say generally go from around £400,000 (€507,895) upwards. The number of loans of £250,000 (€317,430) and above are still climbing. But some impact can be expected - and probably fairly soon.

THERE are now far fewer parents buying homes for their children to live in during college, for example. There are also fewer making a big trade upwards. "These people are also beginning to wait and see. It is a sensible policy," one banker remarks.

He expects this trend to move all the way through to the first time buyer market. Indeed this may be already happening. According to last week's Irish Permanent/ESRI house price data, prices outside Dublin were static in February, while Dublin prices rose 1.3 per cent.

In addition banks say that investors have moved out of the market, and many are buying in Britain - or indeed Spain. Much has been said about tightening bank credit, with the banks less prepared to lend to people they would have considered a year ago.

The banks say this may be so, but none have changed their guidelines. "It is a psychological thing, there is nothing concrete," notes one.