Asking prices for houses down 15% last year

The average price of houses advertised on Daft.ie fell by almost 15% last year, according to figures published by the website today.

The site's operators say the average asking price for residential property in Ireland dropped by nearly €60,000 in 2008.

They said the decline in prices accelerated in the last quarter of the year, with asking prices down almost 6% in the three-month period.

South Co. Dublin has suffered the largest fall since the property bubble burst, with average prices down almost €150,000 from their peak two years ago.

Nationally, the average asking price of a house now stands at €295,000, the same level as January 2006.