A survey - published today - has revealed that house prices in Louth have dropped by almost 40% in two years.

According to the Daft.ie Housing Price report, the cost of an average house in Louth dropped by 23.3% in 2009 and 38.3% since the 2007 peak.

The average price of a house in Louth in the final quarter of the year was under €210,000, well below the national average of € 242,000. To buy a house in the area in 2007 would have cost €340,000.

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Prices in the county fell by 10.4% in the last three months of the year, marking a further slowdown in price falls since earlier in the year.

A one-bedroom apartment in the county during 2009 cost, on average, €99,000, while average prices for a two and three-bedroom property were €158,000 and €187,000 respectively.

Across the country, asking prices for residential property fell by 19% during 2009 – more than 30% below their peak levels of early 2007.

The average time to sell a typical property in most part of the country now takes about nine months, while Dublin has fallen to four months.

(NS/BMcC)