Property prices fall 12.5 per cent

Residential property prices continued to decline in July, although the pace moderated slightly from the previous month.

Prices throughout Ireland fell by 12.5 per cent in the year to July 2011, down slightly from a decline of 12.9 per cent recorded in June. The monthly decline moderated to 0.8 per cent in July, from a fall of 2.1 per cent in June.

"This means the peak-to-trough decline in property prices is now 42.5 per cent," said Davy chief economist Conall Mac Coille. "Prices have fallen 9.2 per cent in the first seven months of the year."

In Dublin, property prices were static compared with the prior month, and were 11.9 per cent lower year on year. Prices for houses edged up 0.3 per cent in the month, leading to a year on year decline of 11.6 per cent, while apartments continued to lose value, falling by 1.9 per cent during July and 13.7 per cent over the year.

Overall, residential property prices in Dublin have lost almost 49 per cent of their value since the peak reached in February 2007. House prices have fallen by just under 47 per cent over the  same period, and apartments are just over 54 per cent lower.

In the rest of the State, residential properties fell by 1.3 per cent month on month, and 12.8 per cent over the year. Properties have declined in value by almost 40 per cent since the 2007 peak of the market.

"While there is no near-term drivers of price rises, price/income ratio type analyses suggest that prices are now close to 'fair value'," Goodbody chief economist Dermot O'Leary said in a note. "One important caveat though is that this is not a good gauge of short-term price movements."