RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICES recorded a rise nationally of 0.5 per cent in August according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The official record of domestic property prices – the Residential Property Price Index – recorded the rise in August which was up on a 0.2 per cent increase in July and a decline of 1.6 per cent that was recorded in August of last year.

But in Dublin residential property prices fell by 0.5 per cent in August and were 13.8 per cent lower than this time a year ago.

Excluding Dublin the price of residential property in the rest of the country rose by 1.3 per cent in August compared with a 0.3 per cent fall at the same time last year.

The figures come on foot of the residential property prices recording their first monthly increase in five years in May. This was followed by a fall in June before they rose again in July.

In the year to August residential property prices have fallen at a national level by 11.8 per cent compared with an annual rate of decline of 13.6 per cent in July and a fall of 13.9 per cent in the year to August 2011.

Overall, the CSO says that house prices in Dublin are now 56 per cent lower than at their highest level in the early part of 2007 with apartments 63 per cent lower than February of that same year.

Residential property prices in Dublin are 57 per cent lower than February 2007 and the fall in the price of residential properties in the rest of the country is recorded at 46 per cent.

This contributes to an overall fall in the residential proeprty prices index of 50 per cent from its highest level in 2007.

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