House Prices Stabilising
09/04/08
The latest National Irish Bank quarterly report on the economy indicates that house prices have almost 'bottomed out' and predicts that sales activity will return to normal levels in the second half of 2008.
NIB's economist Ronnie O'Toole, author of the bank's report, says the housing market in bigger cities will recover quicker than rural parts of the country.
'While supply continues to retrench, there are signs that housing demand might finally be stabilising,' said NIB's economist, Ronnie O'Toole. O'Toole also said that the housing market in bigger cities will recover quicker than in rural parts of the country.
Advertisement House prices, which are essentially asking prices, have fallen by about 15% from their 2006 peak levels, which will result in a return to more normal activity in the market in the second half of the year.
The report also identifies that mortgage lending, house prices, housing registrations and completions are all set to decrease in 2008.
While the report notes that rental inflation was at 9.5% in 2007, it also says that this rate of growth decreased considerably in the second half of the year as a result of increasing availability in the rental market.