House prices fell €25k in past year

HOUSE prices fell by €25,000 over the past year.

February alone saw prices drop by 0.8%, which means prices are down 8.8% in the 12 months to February this year. This compares with a rise of 9.5% in the year to February 2007.

The latest TSB/ESRI house price index shows the average price paid for a house last month was €283,650 compared with €308,610 in February last year.

The fall in prices shows a slight easing when compared with falls of 1.1% in November and 1.5% in December last year.

The decline in prices for the first two months of this year was 1.5%.

Marketing manager with Permanent TSB Niall O’Grady said: “I think the rate of price decrease over the first two months of the year is lower than many people might have expected. We are also seeing that some sellers are finally grasping the point that people are interested in buying properties if the prices sought are realistic.”

In Dublin, house prices fell 1.1% in February from the previous month to an average €390,877.

Menolly Homes reduced the prices of four-bedroom houses in Dunboyne, Dublin, by €105,000 to €495,000 recently in a bid to attract buyers, according to advertisements published in newspapers.

In the commuter counties of Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, house prices fell by 1% last year to average at €315,524.

Three bed semi-detached house prices nationally fell by 0.5% last month to €295,619 — down from €299,412 in December last year.