Apartment values down 51% since boom of 2007

PEOPLE who bought apartments during the property boom have been worst hit by plummeting prices, with the value of their homes now less than half what they were worth four years ago.

Apartments nationally lost 51% of their value since prices peaked in early 2007, while in Dublin the fall in values was slightly worse, hitting 52%. That’s an average: estate agents Savills Ireland said yesterday they had sold apartments last year at prices up to 60% lower than peak values.

Figures for houses meanwhile show drops of 45% in Dublin, which accounts for about 40% of the market, and falls of 35% in the rest of the country. But those are also averages — Savills recorded sales where houses went for 55% less than their 2007 values.