House prices nationwide are still rising but the rate of that rise is slowing down, a new survey shows today.
The latest Daft.ie Sales Report, covering the second quarter of the year, shows that Dublin house prices are actually falling.
Housing prices in the second quarter of 2019 were 3.7% higher than the same time last year, the Daft.ie Sales Report shows.
This marks the lowest rate of inflation since late 2013.
In Dublin, prices fell by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2019, and annual inflation in the city is now at just 1.2%, its lowest level since early 2016.
Inflation has also cooled significantly in the four other main cities, with year-on-year increases of 4.4% in Cork and between 6% and 7% in Galway, Limerick and Waterford, today's report also shows.
The average cost of a house in Dublin in the last year is just under €380,00 while nationwide the average price of a home is €263,000.
Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, said that the steady improvement in construction activity is finally converting into housing market outcomes.
He noted that more properties were put up for sale in May than in any single month since early 2008.
"Unsurprisingly, with much improved supply, buyers are no longer competing with each other as strongly in the market and inflation has, at least for the moment, largely eased off - especially in the Greater Dublin Area, where construction activity is concentrated," he added.
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The economist said that policymakers must now turn their focus from the level of building to the mix.
"Construction is focused on family houses, the one segment already over-supplied compared to demographics. Other segments, in particular for smaller households, remain chronically under-supplied," he said.
"As a result, prices for three-bed homes are now falling, especially in the Dublin area, but other prices for other home types are still rising," he added.
Ronan Lyons also said that an independent "all in audit" of construction costs is needed to see why it is so expensive to build in Ireland.
Mr Lyons said it probably was not a VAT problem, pointing out that the VAT rate in Amsterdam was more expensive than Dublin but it was cheaper to build there.
He said that until we can pinpoint the reason, the price of housing in Ireland would remain high.
