Property price falls slowing, survey finds

Two reports have found that property prices outside Dublin are continuing to fall, although the rate of decline is moderating.

Research by Daft.ie and MyHome.ie also shows that property prices in Dublin are stabilising, with signs of a strong pick-up in some areas of the city.

The slowdown in price falls will be welcome news for the property market, which remains in a volatile state due to an anticipated increase in repossessions over the coming year.

The separate property surveys indicate signs of a general pick-up in activity, if not prices, in the market. In contrast, prices have risen in parts of Dublin, most notably on the city’s southside, with fears there will be a shortage in some areas over the coming months due to a lack of supply of properties coming on the market.

It is estimated that there are around 43,000 properties for sale around the country, with almost 40% of homes finding a buyer within four months, up from 33% a year ago, according to Daft.ie.

Asking prices nationally in the first quarter of this year fell by between 1.8% and 2.3%, according to the two reports.

Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons said prices for properties such as apartments have fallen by considerably more than for larger homes.

For example, the price of a one-bedroom apartment in south Dublin and Co Mayo has fallen by 62% and 72% from its peak respectively. The price of a detached home in the same two locations, however, has fallen by 40% and 45%.

The MyHome.ie survey shows there has been little different between the performance of the market for new and second-hand properties over the past year.

New house prices nationally fell by just over 9%, with an average asking price of €202,623, while second-hand homes decreased 9.4%, with average asking prices of €199,568.

According to MyHome.ie, the average time to sale agreed in Dublin is six months. Outside the capital, it is taking longer, with average “sale agreed” periods taking seven months in Galway, eight months in Limerick, 10 months in Cork, and 11 months in Waterford.

The average asking prices for a residential property in Dublin remained unchanged in the last quarter at €240,000.

They also remained unchanged in Cork and Waterford at €195,000 and €179,000 respectively.

However, prices in Cork are down 7.1% over the past year and by 9.4% in Waterford. Prices in Galway and Limerick have fallen by around 14% and 11% respectively. The average house price in only four counties — Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, and Cork — is higher than the national average of €233,804.

The lowest average house prices are found in Longford at €132,000. Other counties with low average house prices are Leitrim, Roscommon, Laois, and Monaghan.

According to Daft.ie, asking prices in Leinster are down 8.5% over the past year, while transaction prices dropped by 9.6% but sales activity was up 38%.

In Munster, asking prices decreased by 9.5%, while transactions prices were down 11.1%, but the overall number of properties sold was up 26%.

The biggest slump in asking prices was found in Connacht/Ulster where they fell 15%. However, transaction prices were down just 7% with the actual number of properties sold up 27% compared to 2011.

A study of transactions recorded by the Property Price Register since 2010 by MyHome.ie found that 57% of all sales were for properties below €200,000.

It recorded almost 63,000 sales over the period, with one -third of all homes sold being in Dublin. Cork accounted for 11% of the total followed by Galway (4.8%) and Limerick (3.6%).

According to Daft.ie, the actual number of transactions last year rose 38% nationally compared to 2011.