The number of new homes registered in April fell by almost 80% compared with the same month last year, according to figures from home guarantee scheme Homebond. It said just 327 homes were registered in the month, compared with 1,595 a year earlier.
The Homebond figures are seen as an indicator of future housing activity. Homebond is the bigger of two companies which provide registration figures, the other being Premier.
Merrion analyst Killian Jones says that, when figures from Premier are included, total registrations for April were down 81.5% at 358.
He says the three-month figure for February to April gives a better indication of trends. This shows a fall of almost 74% compared with the same period last year - a bigger drop than in the two previous three-month periods.
The analyst said there was 'very little activity' due to a backlog of unsold houses on the market and a lack of demand from potential home buyers.
