HOUSE PRICES FELL slightly in the first three months of this year, according to the latest report from property website Daft.ie.

The latest house price report shows that housing prices fell by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year. 

This is the first time in a decade that there was a first-quarter fall in listed prices. 

The average listed price nationwide in the first quarter of 2023 was €308,497, 2.7% above the same period in 2022 and 17% below the Celtic Tiger peak. 

During the first three months of the year, prices in Dublin were on average 0.4% lower than in the final three months of 2022, and in Cork city they were 0.5% lower.

In Limerick city, prices were stable quarter-on-quarter, while Galway and Waterford cities saw larger quarterly falls – of 1.5% and 0.8% respectively.

Outside the cities, prices in Leinster and in Connacht-Ulster fell by roughly half a percentage point, but they rose in Munster, by 0.6%.

The average list price and year-on-year change for major cities in Q1 2023 was:

• Dublin City: €423,593 – up 1.5%
• Cork City: €323,728 – up 1.2%
• Galway City: €345,880 – up 2.5%
• Limerick City: €248,881 – up 3.0%
• Waterford City: €224,138 – up 2.2%
• Rest of the country: €259,567 – up 3.7%

The number of homes available to buy on 1 March stood at just 13,000, up 30% on the same date last year but still significantly below the 2019 average of 24,200. 

In all parts of the country, the rate at which availability has increased has slowed in recent months.

Commenting on the report, author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said: “The change in market conditions over the last 12 months is clear from the figures in this latest Daft.ie House Price Report.

“A year ago, double-digit inflation in housing prices was still prevalent across much of the country. Now, very few markets are seeing prices more than a percentage point or two higher than a year ago – and those increases largely reflect increases seen March-June last year.”

Lyons said that “while demand has weakened, the post-covid recovery in supply also appears to be weakening, in both new and second-hand segments”.

“Thus, while this year is unlikely to bring any substantial increases in housing prices, underlying issues stemming from housing shortages will persist.”

Note: Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Daft.ie publisher Distilled Media Group.