S&P: Housing to stabilise but recovery still long way off

The Irish housing market will stabilise over this year and next year, but recovery is a long way off, according to a report by the credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s.

“The heavy slump in the Irish housing market appears to have bottomed out. House prices posted their first quarter-on-quarter increase in 22 quarters in Dec 2012 and we forecast that prices will stabilise this year and next, after falling 6.1% in 2012.”

S&P cited a tight credit supply and excess capacity for a slow recovery in prices, although the low levels of new house construction is helping stabilise the market.