Irish house prices grow at fastest rate since 2006

Irish house prices rose last month at the fastest rate since 2006, according to the country's central statistics office.

Values climbed by 0.9 per cent in September from August, in what has been heralded as another sign of the market's gradual stabilisation.

Property prices fell as low as 50 per cent below the peak in the last year as the country's economy struggled to climb back from recession. Indeed, average real estate values are still 9.6 per cent below September 2011.

But this year-on-year decline has slowed dramatically compared to July's annual drop of 13.6 per cent.

"Anecdotal evidence points to pent-up demand for family homes, especially in certain areas of Dublin," Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Merrion Capital in Dublin, told Business Week. "While the figures are encouraging, I think it is too early to say whether house prices are on a steady upward rise."