House prices down but market starts to stabilise

SECOND-HAND house prices in Dublin could stabilise by the end of the year with figures showing that properties in the capital have now lost almost half their value.

Second-hand houses in Cork have been hit just as hard, with prices down just over 13% in the last year, according to estate agents Sherry FitzGerald.

The average price of a second-hand property in Dublin fell 2.5% in the second quarter of this year, which is an improvement on the contraction of 3.1% in quarter one.