An Irish auctioneers' survey says property prices are down on average 24% in 2009 but rate of decline in Q3 fell to 5.8% - - the rate of decline in the second quarter was  9.2%.

A member survey by the Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute (IAVI), is claimed to be based on the experience of professional practitioners conducting property transactions and more reliable than advertising-based statistics or other surveys, which are based on data from some months ago. "In effect, the IAVI survey represents the view from the coalface of those engaged in selling property in the current market. The IAVI represents over 1,800 property professionals nationwide," the association says.

The survey is based on anecdotal evidence and there is no detail on the sample.

It could be 100 or 1,000 and auctioneers have an obvious self-interest to glean a silver lining in the darkest cloud.

However, Finfacts operates on the dictum "trust but verify," and the IAVI data since 2007 has been lower than the ESRI-PermanentTSB index, which currently is based on a very small sample - - also not disclosed.

In the year to August, average prices fell 10.1% according to the ESRI-PermanentTSB index, compared with the IAVI's 24% in the nine months to September.   

The IAVI says the survey shows that the moderation in the rate of decline was most marked in values of residential property in Dublin, which only declined by an average of 3.5% in the period, which is an improvement from an average drop of 7.7% for the previous quarter.

All other areas are following this trend: in Munster, values dropped by an average of 6.8%, an improvement from an average of 10.7% for the previous quarter. Meanwhile, in Leinster (including Cavan and Monaghan) and Connaught/Donegal, values decreased on average by 8.6% and 4.2%, an improvement from 9.6% and 7.4% in quarter two respectively.

Simon Ensor from the Residential Panel of the IAVI National Council said, “Based on the experience of our members’ property transactions, these results show a significant slowing down of the rate of decline of property values nationwide.

“In quarter three, we saw an average decline of 5.8% in residential property values nationwide This is a significant improvement on both quarter one and quarter two, which showed an overall decline of 9% and 9.2% respectively.

“The slowdown in the rate of decline in property values throughout the country and particularly in the greater Dublin area is seen as possibly one of the early signs of a degree of normality returning to the market.

“In fact, our members have reported a significant increase in activity, particularly in July, with a large number of loan-approved clients actively viewing properties. The survey also showed that 65% of IAVI members reported static or improved sales activity in Q3 for both residential sales and lettings.

“However, it is fair to say that in the experience of IAVI members many buyers are still waiting for the market to reach the bottom. There is a strong possibility that this is very close, particularly at the affordable end of the market.” he said.