A recovery in the Dublin housing market appears to have stalled with new figures from the Central Statistics Office pointing to a fourth consecutive monthly decline in house prices in the capital last month.

House prices in Dublin fell by 0.3 per cent in February and while the decline is small, it comes on the back of three successive monthly falls which have seen 3 per cent wiped off the value of properties in Dublin since the autumn.

Residential property prices in Dublin are now 4 per cent higher than they were a year ago.

Affordability pressures

It is a somewhat different story elsewhere across the Republic. Prices rose modestly outside the capital last month with the annual rate of growth rising to a 11.5 per cent, the strongest rate of growth since May 2007.

Affordability pressures, partly due to the macro-prudential rules, are playing a role in pushing some potential homeowners out of the capital into surrounding areas.

When the State is examined as a whole, residential property prices climbed by 8 per cent over the 12 months to the end of February.

The increase compares with an increase of 7.6 per cent in January and an increase of 14.9 per cent recorded in the 12 months to the end of February last year.

House prices in Dublin are now 35.1 per cent lower than at their highest level in early 2007. Apartments in Dublin are 40.9 per cent lower than they were in February 2007.

At their lowest level in mid-2012, house prices in the capital were 56 per cent off peak prices while apartment prices were some 63 per cent lower.

The price of residential properties in the Rest of Ireland is 35.2 per cent lower than their highest level in September 2007.

‘Unsurprising’

The CSO figures were described as unsurprising by the the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers (IPAV).

“The national increase of 8 per cent in the year to February is virtually meaningless since there is a huge divergence in price within each of several different property markets – Dublin, regional cities, regional towns, rural Ireland and second hand versus new builds,” said Pat Davitt the organisation’s chief executive.

He pointed out that the barometer does not include cash buyers who comprise about 50 per cent or more of house sales. “These buyers are eclipsing first-time buyers who cannot reach the thresholds set by the Central Bank mortgage regulations.”