Offaly house price fall biggest in country

A Daft.ie report has shown this week that Offaly house price decreases in the last quarter are the most dramatic in the country. Offaly house prices have plummeted by a massive 11.7% since the first quarter of 2011 to an average asking price of €161,103. Meanwhile nationally house prices have fallen by 5.1% compared to figures from the first three months of this year, to an average of €196,000. The report shows average prices for a one bed house in Offaly now standing at €70,000. A two bed property now costs an average of €98,000, while a three bed will set you back an average of €141,000. Four bed properties now stand at €210,000, while a five bed house will cost an average of €272,000. Nationally asking prices for houses fell at their fastest pace of the last 18 months during the last quarter. The average national asking price now stands at just over half of peak average asking prices. Offaly's latest house prices show a 48.5% fall compared to peak prices, and a 17.3% fall since the same time last year. The next closest decrease to Offaly in asking prices this quarter is in Donegal, where a 9% decrease was recorded since the first quarter of the year. Neighbouring Laois has shown a fall of 8.5%. The smallest percentage decrease since quarter one was seen in Kerry, with just a 1.6% fall in prices. The report shows that housing stock in Leinster stands at 16,000, while nationally the figure is just under 60,000. It's estimated the typical time to sell has also decreased however, falling from ten to eight months.