House prices fell in the third quarter of 2019, according to a new Daft.ie report.

In Dublin, prices were 1% lower than a year previously - compared to a fall of 3% seen a year ago.

The average house price is now €366,000, 26% below peak levels.

Housing prices fell by 1.2% during the year: the first calendar year recording a fall in prices since 2012.

Source: Daft

Daft says the average price nationwide in the final quarter of the year was €250,766 - 2.4% lower than in the third quarter and 1.2% lower than a year ago.

Meanwhile in Galway city, prices were unchanged on a year previously.

In the other main cities prices were higher, with year-on-year increases of 0.8% in Cork, 2.9% in Limerick and 3.3% in Waterford.

Source: Daft

Outside the cities, prices were also falling, by between 0.8% in Munster and 2.6% in Connacht-Ulster.

Following nearly a year and a half of improving availability, this marks the fourth month where stock on the market has fallen.

The number of properties available to buy was just under 22,500 in December, down almost 5% year-on-year.

Source: Daft

The report says: "Following nearly a year and a half of improving availability, this marks the fourth month where stock on the market has fallen.

"The fall in availability is seen in almost all parts of the country, with only Leinster - outside Dublin - bucking the trend."

Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report, says: "In the first and final quarters of the 2010s, sale prices were falling - but that is where the similarities end.

"Over the last 10 years, the sales segment of Ireland's housing market has transformed, albeit slowly.

Source: Daft

"As it enters the 2020s, there appears to be relatively good balance between the pipeline of newly built owner-occupied housing and the number of households able to buy that housing, given constraints such as the mortgage rules.

"Where falling prices represent the ability of developers to build new homes for less, this fall is good for the country's competitiveness."

Average list price and year-on-year change: major cities, 2019 Q4:

• Dublin City: €366,153 - down 1.2%
• Cork City: €278,021 - up 0.8%
• Galway City: €290,449 - unchanged
• Limerick City: €199,911 - up 2.9%
• Waterford City: €180,650 - up 3.3%