Irish residential property prices rose 0.1% month-on-month in March and 1% from the same month last year, but a lag in reporting meant the data did not reflect a coronavirus-related collapse in housing transactions.

The property price index is based on stamp duty returns, which have a 44-day submission deadline, meaning only a fraction of the two most recent months' transactions are available for index compilation the following month, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said in a note on the data.

Separate CSO data on Thursday showed consumer prices fell on an annual basis for the first time in two years in April. Prices were down 0.1% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month, with the largest monthly falls seen in categories including clothing, footwear, housing, water, electricity and gas. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie