Irish house prices dip in first quarter of 2004

The price of second-hand houses fell by 1.3 per cent nationally and by 2.7 per cent in Dublin during the first three months of the 2004, according to the Government's Housing Statistics Bulletin.

New house prices for the March quarter showed slight increases of

one per cent nationally and 2.8 per cent in Dublin on the previous quarter.

However, compared with the first quarter of 2003 second-hand house prices increased by 12.6 per cent nationally and 12.3 per cent in Dublin while new house prices increased by 11.3 per cent and by 11.8 per cent respectively.

The bulletin said the strong performance in housing activity has continued in the March quarter 2004, following on from last year's highest ever level of new house building with a 22 per cent increase on last years figure for the same period.

House completions in the Greater Dublin Area (Dublin City and County, Counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) were also positive with completions of 5,722, up 18.3 per cent

on the corresponding quarter in 2003.

There was an increase in Dublin of 17.5 per cent on the same period last year with 3,671 units being completed.

The Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Noel Ahern, welcomed indications that house price increases have slowed.

Mr Ahern said: "The housing sector continues to perform well with the number of completions continuing to increase."

He said: "The Government's focus will remain on maintaining a high level of supply of houses to meet the very strong demand and in this way seek to bring moderation to the rate of increase in house prices."

"The prospects for another good year in the housing sector are very positive," he said.

Sherry FitzGerald said the findings of the bulletin significantly differed from its own view of the market.

The property company said its own barometer of second-hand properties revealed that "average second-hand properties increased in value by 4.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent in Dublin and Ireland respectively during the first quarter of the year a trend that continued in the second quarter of the year".