House prices growth fall further in Ireland as inflation takes toll

Irish annual house price growth cooled further in January to 5.6 per cent compared with a rate more than twice that a year ago as prices in Dublin rose by just 1.9 per cent, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Thursday.

A spectacular housing bust saw house prices in Ireland fall by more than 50 per cent from their 2007 peak, but after six years of growth, they are now 18.4 per cent below that peak.

Inflation across the economy remains muted, however, with separate CSO data showing consumer prices grew by 0.6 per cent in the year to February, down from 0.7 per cent in the previous month.