Irish house prices grow at slowest rate in six years

A crane is seen behind a row of residential properties in the Capital Dock area of Dublin·Reuters
Reuters
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DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish residential property prices posted their lowest annual growth in more than six years in December, increasing by 0.9% after prices in Dublin fell for a fifth successive month, data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed on Thursday.

House prices have stabilised over the last year having shot up for five years following a crash just over a decade ago. Prices fell 0.6% month-on-month and are 17.5% below the 2007 peak nationally, the Central Statistics Office said.

A lack of affordable housing and sky-high rents were central issues in a national election at the weekend, which saw the left-wing Sinn Fein party win the most votes. All major parties pledged to help increase housing supply in the next government, which may take weeks to form.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Andrew Heavens)