Almost €15,000, or close to 5 per cent, has been knocked off the value of an average house so far this year, according to the latest Permanent Tsb/ESRI House price index published this afternoon.
Last month house prices nationally fell by 1.3 per cent as the traditionally strong autumn dissipated in what Niall O'Grady, head of marketing at Permanent Tsb bank, said was a "deferral of purchase decisions".
He said buyers waiting to see what would happen was having an impact on the rental sector where rents are rising steadily.
According to the survey the average price paid for a house in Ireland in October stands at €295,469, compared with €309,963 in October last year.
When Dublin house price falls are compared to those in the rest of the country the drop in value is 0.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, in October and 5.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent for the first ten months of the year.
The average price paid for a house in Dublin in October was €403,535. Outside the capital, the average was €253,938. In December 2006 the equivalent prices were €427,343 for Dublin and €266,339 for outside the capital.
House prices in the commuter counties around Dublin declined by 0.1 per cent last month and are down 5.4 per cent so far this year. This change means that the average price of a house in the commuter counties last month was €325,568, down from €344,186 in December last year.
The average price paid by a first-time buyer and a second-time buyer in October 2007 was €261,776 and €331,576 respectively, down 6.2 per cent and 5.1 per cent.
Second hand houses have seen an average fall in values of 7.7 per cent to date this year, while prices for new homes have fallen by 2.5 per cent.