According the latest Permanent TSB/ESRI house price index, prices are now dropping by the month, with the example of the average price paid nationally in April being 2,452 less than the average price paid in March.

Over the first four months of 2007, there was a 1.3% fall in prices compared to the equivalent period in 2006 where there was 5% growth.

Last December, the average price paid nationally was 310,632 but in April the average price had dropped to 306,619.

According to the report prices in Dublin and in the new homes market have not been quite so negatively affected. However, if activity in Dublin auction rooms can be taken as a barometer of the state of the property market, there has been a significant halt to the gallop of prices, particularly at the upper price bracket. Many of the bigger private-treaty Dublin properties for sale this spring were failed auctions from last autumn, now back with a lower AMV. Parts of Dublin 6 . . . where prices soared a year ago . . . have shown a definite halt (if not an actual drop) in prices. In light of that, it may come as a surprise that the house-price-index research shows a very slight . . . 0.1% . . . increase in Dublin prices for April 2007.

"It's important to emphasise that there are about 10 different sectors within the Dublin market and a decline is not reflected everywhere, " says Ray Gordon on behalf of Permanent TSB.

"This time last year there was very strong early growth but by the end of the year there was a slight decline. In Dublin, on average, prices are still holding up well and, in the context of the past 12 months, anyone considering buying at the end of April this year would have paid 5% higher than in April 2006."