THE FALL in the residential property market continued over the year to the end of April, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed yesterday.
According to the Residential Property Price Index, compiled by the CSO using mortgage drawdown data supplied by banks, the price of homes in the State was on average 16.4 per cent lower than a year earlier. That comes after a 16.3 per cent annual fall in March.
On a monthly basis, prices were down 1.1 per cent after a brief pause in March.
Dublin bore the brunt of the annual decline, with property down 17.3 per cent year on year, compared with 16.1 per cent for the rest of the country. Apartment prices were 15.3 per cent lower.
Compared with March, property prices were 0.5 per cent higher in the capital, but fell by 2 per cent elsewhere.
Goodbody said there was evidence of a “two-speed” market developing.
"This divergence was also apparent in the latest Daft.ierental survey released earlier this month which pointed to increases in rents in the urban areas of Dublin and Cork while rents outside of this continued to contract," the company said.
Prices have fallen by 50 per cent from their peak in early 2007. Dublin house prices as measured by the CSO have declined by 55 per cent and apartments are 60 per cent lower from 2007 levels.
Around the rest of the country, residential property prices have fallen by 47 per cent.
