THE VALUE OF an apartment located in Dublin continues to drop dramatically with the average price now 61 per cent lower than at its peak in February 2007.

According to the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office, apartment prices in the capital were 18.9 per cent lower last month than they were in March 2011.

House prices in Dublin fared a little better, noting a 0.7 per cent increase in the month but were still 18.4 per cent lower than they were at the same time last year. They are now priced about 55 per cent lower than during the peak of the property boom in 2007.

The price slump for properties outside of Dublin also continues with a fall off of 0.6 per cent of value over the month. Those prices are now down by an average of 15.5 per cent in a year, and by 45 per cent from their peak prices.

At a national level, residential property prices fell by 16.3 per cent over the past 12 months. Although prices are still falling, they are declining at a slower rate than previously recorded. In February, the rate was 17.8 per cent.

The CSO index showed that the price of the average Irish home remained unchanged in March when compared with the previous month. This is compared to a 2.2 per cent drop in February.