Irish house price decline among worst in developed world
House prices are falling globally and Ireland is near the bottom of the pile, new research showed today.
During the year to the end of June, the cost of property fell in 21 of the 33 countries across the world for which there is reliable data, according to property research group The Global Property Guide.
Ireland has seen a slide of 13.72% in inflation-adjusted house prices in the last year, the third-worst performer in the survey.
The group said the Baltic states, the United States (18.93%), the UK (9.77%) are also doing badly.
House prices have dived by 33% in real terms in Latvia’s capital Riga, during the period, while in Estonia’s Tallinn they have fallen by 14%.
The group said quarterly data suggested the situation was getting worse, with inflation-adjusted house prices dropping in all but nine of the 33 countries during the second quarter of the year.
The Global Property Guide said: “Since last year, there has been a dramatic turn-around in the world’s housing markets.
“Only five countries out of 33, at this stage last year, had seen year-on-year declines in house prices in real terms. This year’s total is 21.”
It said that even in countries that continued to record house price rises during the past year, such as China, transaction volumes had fallen sharply, suggesting that buyers were now nervous.
The group added that while property markets in some regions, such as the Middle East, apparently remained in boom, it was hard to confirm this by reliable data.
Spain has recorded house price falls of just 2.49% for the year to the end of June, despite widespread reports of the problems the country’s housing market faces.
However, The Global Property Guide said Spain’s official housing statistics were widely believed to understate the problem.
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