It's too early to call the bottom but the worst could be behind us as falls in property prices have ease significantly in the second quarter of this year according to the latest Property Barometer released by MyHome.ie. Some findings of the report include:
- Nationally, asking prices have declined by 18.5% and by 23.3% on average in Dublin, since their peak
- 7 months ... is the average time it take to sell a house!
- The average asking price nationally now stands at €337,603 and at €409,448 in Dublin
The report also shows that the average paid price is far below that of the average asking price. Paid prices for a house nationally was €245,295, and €323,973 in Dublin come the end of May 2009, this would indicate that asking prices will have to drop a little further in order to meet the average paid price.
We can all agree that the property market has sailed some rocky seas and faced severe storms in the past two years or so. Even MyHome's Managing Director Angela Keegan doesn't deny that the property market has seem some of the darkest days in the past number of months but she is also happy to now report that the rate of decline in asking prices has eased quite nicely during the second quarter this year.
However she also says "it's still too early to call a bottom to the current contraction but given some of the more positive economic news nationally and to a greater extent globally in recent weeks, it could be that the worst is now behind us, although property prices may decline further as 2009 progresses"
Independent Economist Paul Murgatroyd also makes an appearance in the MyHome Property Barometer Q2 2009 and gives his own comments on the results.
