A report from property website Daft.ie has found that while asking prices for houses have held firm, closing prices consistently fell last year.
The result of this shift has seen the market move from a "seller's" market to a "buyer's" market.
Ronan Lyons, economist at Daft.ie, said "Daft.ie's figures show that asking prices were static in 2007, while the ESRI/permanent tsb index shows that closing prices fell steadily throughout the year.
He said, these combined trends mean sellers can no longer expect to achieve 5 to 10 per cent more than their asking price.
"At the start of 2008 sellers are typically expecting 5 to 10 per cent less than their asking price. Anecdotal evidence had suggested that many sellers were resisting offers below their asking prices for most of 2007."
Daft.ie did identify a slight fall in stock in the last three months of 2007, suggesting that vendor expectations are adapting to the new situation.
In 2007, average asking prices nationally were static in year-on-year terms, just 0.4 per cent higher than the previous year. The average price for a property nationwide now stands at €353,000.
The average price for a property in Dublin stands at €449,226, while for the other cities the average prices stand as follows: Cork, €378,562; Limerick, €259,243; Waterford, €278,353 and Galway, €328,726.
Commenting on the report, Professor Frances Ruane, Director of the ESRI cited grounds for optimism in 2008 but also reasons why consumer confidence will remain fragile.
"Firstly, to the extent that the recent changes in stamp duty are seen as reducing uncertainty, they should lead to increased confidence.
"Secondly, while economic growth rates will be lower than in previous years, they are not low relative to the rest of the EU, and taken with the growth in the population seeking housing should have a positive effect on demand," she said.