The latest house price figures out today show the first decrease in house prices in over five years.
The average price paid for a house in March was €2,007 less than the average price paid in February, according to the latest edition of the Permanent Tsb/ESRI House Price Index.
This equates to a decline in national prices of 0.6 per cent in March. This is the first reduction in national house prices since January 2002, when prices declined by 0.9 per cent.
The results for March mean that over the first quarter of the year prices nationally decreased by 0.5 per cent. This compares to growth of 3.5 per cent in the same period last year.
However, measured over the 12 months including March, the average price paid for a house was still 7.4 per cent higher in March 2007 than the average price paid in March 2006.
But this was a lower increase than the 9.5 per cent difference in national prices which occurred between February 2006 and February 2007.
The average price paid for a house nationally in March 2007 was €309,071, compared with €310,632 in December 2006.
House prices in Dublin grew by 0.1 per cent in March, while there was a reduction in prices of 0.6 per cent for houses bought outside Dublin.
The average price paid for a house in Dublin in March 2007 was €429,151 and €265,767 outside Dublin.
The price of a house in the commuter counties around Dublin in March 2007 was €338,062, down from €344,186 in December 2006.
House prices for first-time buyers grew by 0.1 per cent, while prices for second-time buyers fell by 0.5 per cent in March 2007. The average price paid by a first-time buyer was €279,795 and by a second-time buyer €346,946.
The average price paid for a new house in March 2007 was €304,161, down by 0.7 per cent while that paid for a second hand house was €310,236, down by 0.6 per cent.
Niall O'Grady, head of marketing, Permanent Tsb bank, said: "Clearly stamp duty uncertainty together with recent ECB rate rises are both impacting on demand for houses. While the issue of interest rates is largely outside of our control, its imperative now that the issue of stamp duty reform is urgently tackled if not before the election then as soon as practicable after it."