Houses and apartments continued to lose value last month, with national residential property prices falling 2.1 per cent from May and 12.9 per cent over the year, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The month-on-month decline represented the sharpest fall since 2009.

After advancing slightly in May, Dublin property prices retreated 2.4 per cent last month, bringing the annual decline to 12.6 per cent.

Property prices across the rest of the country were 1.9 per cent lower compared to May, and were 13 per cent down year-on-year.

Dublin house prices slipped 2.4 per cent last month, and are now almost 47 per cent below their 2007 peak.

Apartments in the capital shed 1.5 per cent of their value in June, and prices in this sector are now 54 per cent down from levels seen in February 2007.

Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Bloxham stockbrokers, said it was difficult to take an optimistic view of the property market’s prospects in the immediate future, in light of the weak jobs market and the lack of availability of bank credit.

“The bottom line is that the property market remains very ‘soft’ at the moment,” Mr McQuaid said.

He predicted that house prices should rise "on a five-year view" as the labour market improves, but said any such increase is likely to be in the single digits.