House prices down 68% since peak, says report

A new report on residential property prices shows an average drop of 68% since the peak of the boom.

Goodbody's figures are based on prices achieved at the five Allsop Space auctions held in Dublin over the past year.

The average price of residential property sold at those auctions was €145,000.

The report stated that tight credit conditions, oversupply, weak domestic demand and a lack of transparency on sales prices have contributed to the prolonged nature of the housing market crash.

It said that mortgage lending last year was back to levels last seen in 1971, adding that a key ingredient for any recovery in the Irish property market is credit availability.