Irish house asking prices fell by 19% during 2009 and are now more than 30% below their peak levels of early 2007, according to the latest report published by property website Daft.ie. The national average asking price at the end of 2009 was €242,000 - - a fall of €107,000 from the peak.

The rate of decline in asking prices has varied across the country. In Dublin, asking prices have dropped by up to 42% - while in Cork, Galway and Waterford, asking prices fell by approximately 30%. In Limerick, drops were on average 25%, while elsewhere in the country, prices are now on average 30% below their peak in early 2007. In most parts of the country, the average time to sell a typical property now takes about 9 months, while Dublin has fallen to four months.

Highlighting the link between price falls and movement on the market, Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons said: "Over the course of 2009, Dublin saw the largest fall in asking prices, as sellers adjusted to market conditions. At the same time, the total stock for sale in the capital fell by almost 20% over the year. In other parts of the country however, where there have been significantly smaller falls in asking prices, the number of properties available for sale is still rising."

Commenting on the report, Alan McQuaid, economist with Bloxham Stockbrokers, said: "Although houses have in general become more affordable in terms of price, this is of little comfort to potential purchasers if credit is still very tight. As such, it is therefore imperative that the country's banking system is put back on a sound footing as soon as possible. This must be the Government's main objective for 2010."

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McQuaid said there are some seeds of comfort from the Daft report, with the average time to sell a property falling from the previous quarter. The typical Dublin property is now taking about four months to sell, compared to seven months elsewhere in Leinster and more than nine months in other parts of the country. Meanwhile, the stock of properties for sale in the country remains above 60,000 units, but in Dublin that represents a decline of 17% in the year. The overall message in the report is that while house prices continue to adjust downward, there appears to be an easing off in the rate of decrease.

He added that the collapse in property prices has seen many households falling into negative equity and with thousands losing their jobs, the numbers in mortgage arrears has increased dramatically. And the brutal impact of the recession on families is evident from the fact that almost 1,000 repossession orders were initiated in the High Court in 2009, up close on a third on the 2008 total of 758.

"In the current circumstances it is hard to be optimistic on the prospects for the property market in the immediate future. Indeed, it is difficult to see the property market improving dramatically until labour market conditions get better and consumers become more confident about their job prospects going forward. And even then, consumers will be relying on the banks to make credit more freely available than what they are doing at the moment," McQuaid said.