House registrations down 81% in year

HOUSE registrations fell 81% to 204 in January from a year earlier, Dublin-based Homebond said.

This news comes as figures also reveal average house prices have fallen €50,000 in the last two years.

The permanent TSB end-of-year House Price Index revealed prices fell nationally by 9.1% last year, but when inflation is taken into account the real drop was 13.2%. The average price paid for a house nationally at the end of 2008 was €261,573, compared with €287,887 in 2007 and €310,632 in 2006.