House prices down 1% in 2014 'due to new lending restrictions'
A new report shows house prices fell by 1% in the last three months of 2014.
The Daft.ie research indicates this is the first national decrease in house prices since the middle of 2013.
However, despite the recent fall, the average asking price for a house nationwide is now €193,000, which is up €22,000 when compared with the end of 2013.
Ronan Lyons, an Economist at Trinity College and the author of the Daft.ie report, explains why he thinks there's been a dip in house prices: "It's likely what is driving this is not any change in fundamentals but actually the impact of the proposed Central Bank restrictions on lending.
"Even though they haven't come in yet, they still affect people's expectations, so if people no longer expect house prices to go up by 15 or 20% year on year, they can take their time and make a more in formed decision.
"That seems to be what has happened with an easing off in the last three months of 2014."
