The runaway Irish housing market is showing signs of slowing down according to the latest edition of the permanent tsb House Price Index.
The index - compiled in association with the ESRI - reveals that house prices nationally grew by 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
This compares to a rise of 4 per cent during the last quarter of 2002. The average quarterly growth in 2002 was 3.2 per cent. Prices rose by 1.7 per cent in the first quarter of last year.
The figures also reveal that national prices rose by just 1 per cent in March; a neglible change on the 0.9 per cent recorded in February but a significant change from the 1.8 per cent recorded in the month of March 2002.
Significantly the year-on-year increase in national prices to end March 2003 was 14.5 per cent. This is lower than the year-on-year increase to the end of February (15.4 per cent). This is the first month since July last (2002) when the year-on-year rate of growth was lower than that recorded the previous month.
The average price paid for a house nationally in March of this year was euro211,500. The equivalent price in March 2002 was euro184,732.
Commenting on the results, Mr Niall O'Grady of permanent tsb said; "The details of this month's index suggests that the rate of increase in prices is indeed moderating - and that's reflected particularly in the mere 0.1 per cent increase recorded in the price of houses in Dublin. We continue to estimate growth in prices nationally of just below 10 per cent for the year as a whole."
Dublin house prices rose by just 0.1 per cent in March while there was growth of 1.2 per cent for houses bought outside Dublin. In February the relative price increases were 0.9per cent and 0.3per cent.
The average price paid for a house in Dublin in March was euro278,595, while the equivalent price for a house outside Dublin was euro183,689. The equivalent prices in March 2002 were euro236,954 and euro163,474.
The average price paid by a first-time buyer and a second-time buyer in March 2003 was euro183,066 and euro238,946 respectively. The equivalent prices in March 2002 were euro163,626 and euro206,644.
House prices for new houses increased by 1.6 per cent in March 2003, while second-hand prices rose by 1 per cent. In February the relative price increases were 0.9 per cent and 0.9 per cent.