IF YOU think the bottom has fallen out of the housing market then a new report out today shows that the slowdown has been even worse in the pub business.

Only five of the 775 bars in Dublin city and county changed hands last year – the lowest number for 14 years, according to Morrisseys, who handled all the sales. Only two of the five (The Parnell Mooney and In (in Dalkey) were freehold properties, the others being all leasehold businesses. The small number of sales may well have distorted the overall slide in values but according to Morrisseys, the average price of a Dublin licensed premises has fallen from €4.42 million to €970,000.

The report also shows that the value of pub licenses rose in 2010 to between €70,000 and €75,000 but were still a long way from their peak value of €175,000 in 2007. With an increasing numbers of pubs closing throughout the country, Morrisseys is understandably pessimistic about the coming year. It says that the bulk of selling activity will stem from insolvency due to the fall off in business and “unsustainable debt.”