The average price for a house nationally in July 2009 was €238,828, compared with €261,573 in December and a peak of €311,078 in February 2007 - - down 23%.

Average Irish national house prices dropped by 1.1% in July according to the latest edition of the permanent tsb / ESRI House Price Index. This compares to reductions in June (-1.5%), May (-1.3%) and April 2009 (-1.9%).  In the first seven months of 2009 national house prices have fallen by 8.7% which compares to a reduction of 5.2% in the same period in 2008. Measured over the 12 months (year on year) to July, national prices were down by 12.5%. This compares to a decline of 11.7% recorded in the 12 months to June 2009. The average price for a house nationally in July 2009 was €238,828, compared with €261,573 in December and a peak of €311,078 in February 2007 - -  down 23%.

Commenting on the results, Niall O’ Grady, General Manager Business Strategy, permanent tsb said; “The property market has remained sluggish through the summer months as reflected in low transaction levels and continuing price declines. Prices have now fallen by 24% since February 2007 and despite lower interest rates and improved affordability, customer confidence in the property market needs to improve before we can expect increase in activity.”

The permanent tsb house price index is a 3 month moving average. The index is based on the agreed sale price and is calculated using data from mortgage drawdowns. Therefore a lag may exist between the time the sale price is agreed and when the mortgage is drawn down.

There is no data on volume change from month to month -  - a key drawback.

Methodology

Paper by David Duffy of the ESRI, published in May 2009

It has been argued that the index likely understates house price falls.

The data are reflective of prices at the mortgage payment stage of the house-buying process. This can be some 3-4 months after a sales price is agreed, and, in a slower market, this lag could get extended further. Therefore, there is a significant lag between market prices and the official house price data. Secondly, the type of properties in the ptsb database may be concentrated towards the lower price range in the market.

The current number of units used to calculate the index, is likely a fraction of the number at the peak of the bubble in 2006.

Why doesn't the State's statistics office produce the index? Just as one may ask, why is there no official  data on development land sales?

Prices are likely to fall well into 2010 as there is a large overhang of empty houses in the market which has been estimated as exceeding 300,000 units, including holiday homes.

Goodbody chief economist Dermot O’Leary said in July that Daft.ie then had 57,000 second-hand houses for sale, equivalent to 19 months supply at current rates.

Dublin V Rest of Country