Figures released today show that house price inflation continued to ease in July, though the average price moved towards the €250,000 mark.
The Permanent TSB/ESRI House Price Index shows that national prices rose by 0.9% in July, the same pace of growth as in June. For the first seven months of this year, house price growth was 5.7%, compared with 8.1% in the same period last year.
The annual rate of growth in July was 11.1%, the lowest figure since November 2002. Annual rates of growth have now been falling since last July. The average price paid for a house in July was €247,295.
Permanent TSB's Niall O'Grady said the figures backed up his forecast of 10% growth for 2004 as a whole. He described this as a 'welcome moderation', driven mainly by a surge in supply of new properties on the market.
House prices in Dublin were up 1.1% in July, faster than the 0.4% growth in June, while prices elsewhere rose by 0.8%. Prices outside Dublin are showing slightly faster growth so far this year.
Prices for first-time buyers increased by 0.5% in the month, but prices for second-hand buyers were up 1.2%. Prices of new and second-hand houses both rose by 0.9% in July. New house prices are still showing strong growth, with the annual rate of increase at 14.2%.
