Asked to evaluate the current value of houses sold between March and October 2006, some of Ireland's leading estate agents suggested properties worth more than 2m had lost about 10% of their purchase price. Things could get much worse, they predicted.

Interest-rate hikes, negative consumer sentiment and market uncertainty along with disproportionate rising prices for the first half of 2006 have caused this current downturn. "As it becomes apparent that those [early 2006] prices are unachievable in the current climate, so prices are reduced and maybe reduced again to generate interest, " Paul Murgatroyd, economist with agents Douglas Newman Good told the Sunday Tribune. "During the first six months of 2007 it was more often the case you would only be showing a property to one interested party due to the slack demand, " Murgatroyd said, adding that the eventual clarification on stamp duty is slowly bringing buyers back into the market.

Of the 10 high-priced houses in Dublin surveyed by the Sunday Tribune, just two have held their value. Others have fallen in value by between 1% and 15%. The most dramatic loss was suffered on No 18 Nutley Lane in Donnybrook.

The house was sold last July for 2.6m, way over its guide price of 1.5m. It's now worth 2.2m according to estate-agent estimates.

"It's a matter of whether you can sell the bloody things, regardless of the prices, " one leading estate agent told the Sunday Tribune. "Enquiries are down to a minimum, houses are just not shifting. . . There was a load of hyping up last year . . . everyone went bananas."

The estate agent believes prices will not get back on track until January 2008. "Last year was crazy . . . it was completely skewed, there was no supply. And now there's an over-supply, " the estate agent said.

"Anything near town and anything old is still selling but if you go out to Tallaght, Lucan, Greystones, any of the commuter towns, they are all badly hit. This isn't the first time it has happened . . . in the '80s it was like this."

A managing director of another large estate agents told the Sunday Tribune that things were rather grim for his profession at the moment. "From talking to people and going around the offices, we're basically saying from this time last year the market is probably down by 10%, so we're really back to Christmas 2004 prices." An oversupply of properties and a cautious public are to blame he said, along with a lot of negative press.

"There was a lot of bad publicity about auctions in September but in fact an awful lot of properties put on auction shouldn't have been. When you had five sold out of 40 the headlines were worse than the reality. . . Then you had Mr McDowell coming out with what he said was 'abolishing stamp duty' and that got a lot of people thinking, 'Maybe if I hang on I won't have to pay the stamp duty.'

For now, the big fall has happened."

Other estate agents, while acknowledging the massive 10% decrease in high-end house prices, said there was still money to be made. One estate agent pointed out that two of his recent sales were to investors, indicating that this cautious group of buyers was once again dabbling in the market.

A spokeswoman for Sherry Fitzgerald was quick to point out a recent sale of theirs last week: No 21 Ailesbury Road went for 14m after being bought last year for 12.95m, indicating that there is still money to be made on multimillion homes.

House prices one year on . . .what the experts say

No 6 Park Villas, Stillorgan, Co Dublin Sold March 2006 for /2.75m.

Now worth /2.5m. Down 9%

Subiaco, Temple Gardens, D6 Sold October 2006 for /9.06m.

Now worth /8.7m. Down 4%

No 39, Garville Ave Upr, Rathgar, D6 Sold March 2006 for /4m.

Now worth /3.6. Down 10%

Poplar Cottage, No 42 Beechpark Ave, Castleknock, D15 Sold March 2006 for /2.3m.

Now worth /2.3m. Holding Value