House prices are continuing to fall across Westmeath, albeit at a slower pace than before, according to the latest figures from property website Daft.ie
The Daft House Price Report for the first three months of this year reveals that house prices in Westmeath have fallen a massive 36 per cent since their peak; however the drop from the previous quarter is less than 1 per cent, an indication that the rate of decline is slowing.
In contrast, during the first quarter of 2009, house prices in Westmeath fell by 3.2 per cent.
The average asking price for a two bed home in the county is now €162,000, three bed €163,000, and four bed €234,000, while a five bedroom home comes with a price tag of €292,000.
Those seeking to buy a home will get the best value for their money in neighbouring Longford, where just €146,000 will secure a three-bedrooom house. Not surprisingly, the south side of Dublin city remains the most expensive place to buy, with the average price of a three-bedroom home now €340,000.
In Leinster, prices are now about 35 per cent off their peak, while nationally average asking prices are now one third below their 2007 peak.
Overall, asking prices fell just over 3 per cent in the first quarter of 2010, the smallest quarterly fall in house prices in almost two years.
Commenting on the report, Trinity College finance professor Brian Lucey said house prices will continue to decline for another 18 months and may eventually have fallen by 50 per cent.
“It is probable that as we decline towards the trough, the speed at which house prices fall slows down. And this is what we are starting to see - in the last six months, the average decline has been lower than the previous six months, itself lower then the period before,” said Professor Lucey.
He also criticised the Government for not providing a regular house price index.
“It is surely unconscionable that in a country suffering the after-effects of a house price bubble, there is no real-time or even monthly house price index from any government agency...Daft.ie now stands alone as the only national monthly index. We are, as a nation, steering blind, not to mention dumb, on the seas of house price deflation.”
