Property prices increase by 2.3% - the first annual growth in five years

The price of houses and apartments increased during the year to the end of July by 2.3%, new CSO figures show.

The increase could be considered a further sign of some recovery in the property market, alongside yesterday's report from property website Daft.ie which showed a small increase in rental prices year-on-year.

Today's 2.3% increase in property prices compares to a fall in values of 13.6% during the same period last year.

In Dublin, house values increased by 7.5% over the year, while apartment prices were up by 11.6%. Outside of the capital, however, residential properties prices fell by 1.5%.

The Central Statistics Office said overall values are still 49% lower than at the peak in 2007.

Karl Deeter, Financial Adviser and Analyst at IrishMortgageBrokers.ie, warned that the rise in Dublin is unhealthy and caused by a false supply.

"At this stage there's a lot of people and properties and their houses should have been sold," he said. "And the banks are refusing to repossess them."