Asking prices for second-hand homes continue fall

According to the latest Property Barometer issued by MyHome.ie, asking prices for properties across the country have continued to fall.

However, the rate of decrease has eased for the second successive quarter - the most notable exception being Dublin City South where the average asking price rose by 1.1%.

Asking prices nationally fell by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a fall of 3.5% in the last quarter of 2009.

The average asking price for a home is now €301,449 compared to €342,666 twelve months ago and overall asking prices nationally have fallen 27.3% from their peak.

In Dublin asking prices fell by 3.9% bringing the total fall over the last 12 months to 15.2%.

Prices in the capital have now fallen by 33.4% since their peak in 2006.

The average asking price for a house in Dublin now stands at €355,657.

New homes recorded the largest drop in asking prices in Q1, declining by 4.4%, the largest decrease on any of the MyHome.ie property barometer indices.

It means the average price of a new home now stands at €271,437.

The asking prices for second hand homes fell by 3.2%, the smallest amount of any sector covered.

The average asking price for a second hand home is now €305,767 down from €422,990 or 27.7% since the peak of the market.

Asking prices in Limerick city remain the lowest of any urban area with the median price of a house in the city now standing at €240,000.

In Cork the corresponding price is €289,500 while in Galway it is €275,000.

In the three-bed semi-detached market, the biggest falls were in Wexford and Westmeath, which both recorded falls of over 6% in Q1.