A report on the housing market shows the number of homes for sale is at its lowest level in nine years, as the chronic shortage of new housing continues.

The Daft quarterly house price report also confirms prices continue to stall in Dublin but are rising at close to 10 per cent a year outside the capital.

The report, by the property website's economist Ronan Lyons, calls on the Government to take strong measures to stimulate a supply of new housing.

The report says prices rose by almost 6 per cent nationally in the year to the end of March.

Prices in Dublin rose by less than 1 per cent but by more than 9 per cent in the rest of the country.

The report says house price inflation on average is slowing, and is less a factor in all parts of the State than it was three months ago.

Cities outside Dublin have the strongest growth in prices.

Daft says prices have started falling in some of the most in-demand areas of south Dublin.

In Limerick and Waterford, however, prices were up by 18 per cent compared to a year ago.

Prices in Cork and Galway were between 14 per cent and 15 per cent higher, while outside the cities, Leinster prices were up 8.3 per cent and more than 10 per cent in Connacht and Ulster.

National average

The national average price in the first quarter of the year was €210,000, compared to €198,000 a year ago.

This varies from an average of more than €500,000 in south county Dublin to €113,000 in Roscommon.

“Across Munster, Connacht and Ulster, there were 13,500 homes for sale, compared to almost 21,000 two years previously,” said Daft.

“Every month, roughly 2,000 new households are formed. But each month sees the construction of, at best, 1,000 new homes,” said Mr Lyons.