House price growth eased in the second half of 2022, according to the latest figures.

The average cost of a home in the final quarter of last year was €309,941, down 0.4% on the average for the third quarter of the year and 16% below the Celtic Tiger peak.

The average price listed in the third quarter was €311,514, which was up 0.1% on the second-quarter average, according to the report by property website Daft.ie. Over the whole of 2022, house prices rose by 6.1%, which compares with an 8.1% jump in 2021, a 7.7% rise in 2020 and a fall of 1.2% in 2019.

The number of homes available to buy on December 1 stood at just over 15,200, up 33% on the same date the year before but far below the 2019 average of 24,200.

The median price of a newly built home in the first nine months of 2022 was just over €370,000, up 6% on the same period in 2021.

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The increase in availability on the market has been greatest in Leinster, which is up 51%, and smallest in Munster, up 19%.

The average price for a house in Dublin city is now €425,560, according to the Daft.ie report - up 5% on the previous 12 months.

In Cork city, house prices are at €324,840 on average, 3.3% more expensive than a year ago, while Galway city saw the highest annual increase at 8%, with the average cost of buying a home at €350,541.

Waterford city has an average house price of €225,465, up 6.4%, according to the report, while Limerick city is up 5.4% with an average house price of €248,531.

In all areas outside the cities, prices rose by 7.1%, bringing the cost of a home to an average of €260,737.

Commenting on the report, author and economist Ronan Lyons said: "2022 started with a continuation of the significant upward pressure on prices seen in the second half of 2020 and in 2021. However, the year ends with prices falling, albeit modestly, in the final quarter.

"While supply has increased, availability is still tight, indicating that the change in market conditions is more likely driven by a change in the strength of demand.

"We can see this with expected inflation, which has hit its lowest level since the outbreak of Covid-19, suggesting uncertainty on the part of demand.

"Overall, with supply recovering and demand softening, it is unlikely that 2023 will see prices gains similar to the last three years."

The marginal fall in house prices in the final quarter of the year mirrors a trend that has emerged in recent years.

In each year from 2014 to 2018, prices rose in each of the first three quarters and fell in the final quarter.

Despite this trend, prices have risen for eight consecutive quarters from mid-2020 to mid-2022 - the longest run of increases since Daft.ie began tracking prices in 2006.

The report also notes that projections for house price growth of 0.2% in December - the weakest expected increase since 2020.