Residential property prices in the Republic increased for the third consecutive month in September raising hopes the housing market may be stabilising.

House prices rose by 0.9 per cent in the month of September. This compares with an increase of 0.5 per cent recorded in August and a decline of 1.5 per cent recorded in September of last year.

Residential house prices fell by 9.6 per cent in the year to September, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. This compares with an annual rate of decline of 11.8 per cent in August and a decline of 14.3 per cent recorded in the twelve months to September 2011.

The CSO figures, now widely considered to be the benchmark of property prices in the Republic, are based on mortgages, but do not take into account cash transactions.

In Dublin property prices rose by 2.4 per cent in September, but were 9.8 per cent lower than a year ago. Residential property prices in Dublin are now 56 per cent lower than at their highest level in February 2007.

Throughout the rest of the country, the price of homes was down an average of 0.1 per cent in September.