Surveys show rest of the country following Dublin's lead when it comes to house prices

Two surveys today suggest house prices are stalling, especially in Dublin where the average price is actually going down.

House prices in Dublin have fallen an average of €4,500 in the past three months, according to the latest House Price Survey by the Real Estate Alliance.

Prices also fell by 1% in the commuter counties in the past three months, with the average house now selling for €246,611 – an annual fall of 0.7%.

The survey also shows that uncertainty over Brexit is affecting buyers.

The REA's Barry McDonald said it is now taking nine weeks to reach 'sale agreed' in Dublin City compared to six a year ago.

Mr McDonald said: "Over the past three months values have dropped, certainly most notably in Dublin where the average price of a three-bedroom semi-detached is down approximately €4,500.

"This shows aabout a 1% drop per quarter across Dublin over the last 12 months, bringing the average price of a three-bedroom semi-detached down to €428,000, which is significant enough from a high about 12 months ago of €443,000."

The average semi-detached house nationally now costs €235,009, the survey also found, a drop of 0.43% on the previous three months of €236,028.

Agents are reporting price falls in Wicklow (-2%, €284,200), Louth (-2%, €200,000) and Meath (-1%, €237,500), while prices were static in Kildare at €282,000.

Prices in the country’s major cities outside Dublin – Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick – remained unchanged in the past three months.

Average prices in Galway are at €282,500, up 2.7% annually, Waterford City (€215,000) is up 4.9% on the year, Cork City is up 0.8% annually to €317,500 and Limerick is static over the past 12 months at €200,000.

Overall, the average house price across the country rose by just 0.08% over the past year after a 5.8% annual rise to September 2018.

A second survey confirms that property prices across the country have only gone up very slightly.

The latest MyHome.ie/Davy Quarterly House Price Report shows they have risen by 0.3% nationally over the past year.

Davy Chief Economist, Conall McCoille, said the country is following Dublin's lead.

Mr McCoille said: "Well what we are seeing is house price inflation slow towards zero. We've already seen that in Dublin, I think people already understand that.

"What we are seeing now is the slowdown extend around the rest of Ireland and what we think is happening, we are expecting a slowdown in any case, but it's a little bit more severe than we would have thought."