A new survey reveals that the first quarter of this year saw the smallest decline in asking prices since the market started to fall in 2007.
The latest Daft.ie house price report states that prices fell by 1.4% on average in the first three months of the year.
This compared to a fall of 8% in the last three months of 2011.
Daft.ie says the national average asking price is now €177,000, down 52% from the peak of the market.
The research shows that the average asking prices were Dublin and Galway city centres rose by 4% and 2.3% respectively. Prices in other city centres were lower with Cork down by 5%, Waterford by 7% and Limerick by 1%. Prices fell by an average of 2.2% elsewhere in the country.
Daft.ie also said that the total number of properties available nationwide for sale is 54,000 - the lowest level in four years. '
''The latest figures, which suggest more stable asking prices and increased activity, may come as something of a surprise, given general economic conditions,'' commented Daft.ie's economist Ronan Lyons.
''It is possible that the market was waiting to see if the substantial reductions seen in late 2011 would have an impact. 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,' he added.
However, figures from MyHome.ie show that house prices fell by 7.2% in the first quarter of 2012. MyHome says this is the fastest rate of decline in three years.
The survey shows that house prices in Dublin fell by 7.5% in the first quarter, with the annual rate of decline at 18%.
It says that asking prices are now down by 47% from their peak in the last quarter of 2006, while Dublin prices are down 54% over the same time.
The main reason for the apparent discrepancy between the two surveys is because Daft.ie only uses properties which are newly advertised during the quarter in compiling its statistics, while MyHome.ie uses all properties on their website regardless of when they were put up.
The latest MyHome.ie survey says the average asking price for a three bed semi is now about €185,000.
Annette Hughes, Director of DKM Economic Consultants, who authored the MyHome.ie report, said that house prices look set to fall by a further 10-15%.
''With prices falling by around 2% per month, this implies another six to seven months of falling prices, before possibly stabilising in the second half of the year,'' Ms Hughes said.
''However, any move towards price stability in the latter half of 2012 will need to be accompanied by a recovery in the jobs market, the prospects of which are very weak over the coming months,'' she added.
