House prices in Ireland fell by 4.5% in 2012

House prices in Ireland fell by 4.5% in 2012

Property prices inIrelandhave fallen for the second time in three months, according to Reuters. In December 2012 recorded a 0.5% decline compared to the previous month. Any stabilization of the property market inIrelandwill be gradual, experts predict.

Annual decline in prices is now at 4.5%, while in 2011 it was 16.7%, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland.

A huge real estate bubble that burst in 2008 forced the Irish government to invest 64 billion euros into the banking system. Despite the measures taken, thousands of construction workers are unemployed, and homeowners who took mortgages are up to their ears in debt.