Daft Report, Q1 2012 – Smallest quarterly fall in prices since 2007

The first quarter of 2012 saw the smallest decline in asking prices since
the market began to fall in 2007, according to the latest Daft.ie House
Price Report. Prices fell by 1.4% on average during the first three months
of the year, compared to 8% in the final three months of 2011. The national
average asking price is now €177,000, down 52% from the peak.

In Dublin and Galway city centres, the average asking price rose by 4% and
2.3% respectively. Prices in all other city centres were down including
Cork which fell by 5%, Waterford 7% and Limerick 1%. Elsewhere in the
country, prices fell by an average of 2.2%.

The total number of properties available for sale nationwide is now 54,000,
the lowest it has been in four years. This, coupled with an increase in the
number of properties selling within four months (rising from 30% in
December to 33% in March), suggests evidence of increased activity in the
market.

Offaly & West Leinster

In the West Leinster counties of Laois, Westmeath, Offaly and Longford,
asking prices were largely stable in the first three months of 2012, rising
by an average of 0.2%, compared to a fall of 8.5% between September and
December. The average asking price in Offaly for the first quarter of 2012
was €148,591. This represents a 2% rise from the previous quarter.

Ronan Lyons, Economist at Daft.ie, said: “The latest figures, which suggest
more stable asking prices and increased activity, may come as something of
a surprise, given general economic conditions. It is possible that the
market was waiting to see if the substantial reductions seen in late 2011
would have an impact. Optimists will also point out that, compared to
fundamentals such as rents and incomes, prices in areas such as Dublin city
centre do not seem unrealistic. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that prices
will stabilise nationally until there is a substantial increase in
activity, which itself will require mortgage lending by banks.”

The full report is available from
www.daft.ie/report http://daft.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?uVe…
includes a commentary by Seamus Coffey, lecturer in economics at
University College, Cork.

For further information please contact:
Ronan Lyons (086 604 5655), Daft.ie – media@daft.ie