Asking prices for property in Dublin have dropped by over 10 per cent in some areas, according to a survey published today.
Property website Daft.ie said year-on-year growth in asking prices has been slowing consistently over the last 12 months and stood at just 2.1 per cent in April.
Daft said this compares with asking price inflation of 13.8 per cent in April last year.
The upper-end of the Dublin property market has been "hardest hit", with some areas showing significant drops in asking prices over the past six months, the company said.
Howth and Malahide have seen drops of over 10 per cent. In the south of the capital, asking prices in Rathmines, Rathgar and Ranelagh are down 12.6 per cent.
Asking prices in the predominantly first-time-buyers areas of Lucan and Adamstown took a softer hit, down 4.2 per cent over the same period.
Daft said prices outside Dublin remain "relatively static".
"The most notable exceptions to this are Sligo and Limerick cities where asking prices are up 7.8 per cent and 10.5 per cent respectively. Historically, prices in both these cities have been lower than other cities in the Republic."
Director of Daft.ie Brian Fallon said: "House price inflation has been falling for close to a year now. This primary reason for this has been the multiple interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank. Mortgage repayments, for many first-time-buyers, are now €500 more expensive each month than this time last year.
"This means that new entrants into the market simply can't afford what they could have 12 months ago and, as such, prices have lowered to match affordability."
Mr Fallon said that stamp duty, although not the cause of the slowdown, has further dampened the market.
"First-time-buyers are by in large unaffected by stamp duty as they pay no duty on new homes or on homes valued at the national average. It is the higher end properties that have been most affected by the stamp duty uncertainty . . . as a result, prices for such properties have readjusted more dramatically than the rest of the market."