CSO figures released today show residential property prices fell by 1.4% nationwide in January. It marks the largest fall in a single month since January 2012.
Despite this fall, residential property prices remain up 15.5% over the last 12 months.
Nationally, the CSO has found that residential property prices are 38.5% lower than their peak level in 2007. In Dublin, house prices are 36.9% lower than their peak, with apartment prices 44.4% lower.
Image: CSO
Karl Deeter is Financial Analyst at Irish Mortgage Brokers & Advisors.ie. He spoke to Jonathan Healy on the CSO figures and the slight dip in prices.
He started by saying he is not surprised by the numbers, saying "with the changes in the Capital Gains Tax rules that came at the end of 2014 that a lot of purchases were brought forward into last year." He also cited new Central Bank rules and the property cycle as potential factors in affecting prices.
In terms of the new Central Bank regulations and their influence on the figures, Karl said "to have one month or two months of a slowdown where it's cyclically due anyway, and at the same time as a huge tax benefit ended... to put it on the one thing that was only a proposal when it occurred... Jonathan I think we'll need to review which part of the timeline we're both looking at".
You can listen to the full interview below:
