Dublin house prices fell in the first three months of the year, according to the latest figures from the Department of the Environment.

The average price of a new house in the capital - at £162,044 - was down 1.1 per cent compared to the final quarter of last year while the average price of a second-hand house in Dublin - £177,266 - was down 2.7 per cent.

The average price of secondhand houses across the State in the three months to the end of March - £137,029 - was also down by 0.3 of a percentage point on the three months ending December, 1999. The average price of a new house at £126,550 rose by 1.6 per cent in the same period.

The Minister of State for housing, Mr Bobby Molloy, said the three months ending in March was the first quarter that average prices had dropped nationally and in Dublin since 1995.

The figures shows that the increase in new and second-hand house prices across the State in the 12 months to March - at 13 per cent and 14 per cent respectively - was the lowest increase since 1996.

In Dublin the corresponding annual increases of 13 per cent and 17 per cent were down from 22 per cent a year earlier.

However, the figures contrast with the latest data released by the Irish Permanent and the Economic and Social Research Institute for prices to the end of May.

They found that prices were up 22.2 per cent for first time buyers over the previous 12 months and by 19.2 per cent for second hand property. The research also found that prices rose by 8.5 per cent in the first five months of the year compared with 5.9 per cent in the same period in 1999.