The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has lambasted Goodbody Stockbroker's analysis of house prices, describing it as being "out of date and misleading".

The CIF also strongly contests the firm's analysis relating to the amount of unsold housing stock currently on the market.

Responding to a report issued by Goodbody's, CIF's Director of Housing, Hubert Fitzpatrick said: "The Goodbody Report is both out of date and misleading. It fails to take account of the real price reductions that have already taken place and instead relies on published data that is up to six months old.

"In effect, therefore, it ignores what has happened to house prices in the intervening period, the most challenging economic period in Ireland in well over two decades."

He suggested: "From my own dealings with house builders countrywide and having examined house prices in, for example, key locations in the Dublin area, actual house price reductions from their peak in 2006 are in the order of 27% in nominal terms.

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"When one takes inflation into account, real house price reductions are in the order of 34% to 35% in the Dublin area. Different rates may apply in different parts of the country."

He said these findings were 'completely at odds' with those of the Goodbody report, which suggests that house prices will fall by 11% this year.

"The Goodbody report finds that there are 50,000 built but unsold new homes on the market at present. Our analysis, which is based on direct dealings with the companies responsible for building these units shows that the figure is 35,000," claimed Mr Fitzpatrick.

"We cannot understate our growing population who will be in the house buying age group in the years ahead. We have 500,000 people aged between 16 and 24. In addition, CSO estimated that our population will grow by 20% between now and 2016," he said.

The CIF Housing Director also referred to the likely impact of changes in the Budget on the housing market.

"Over the past six to nine months, the biggest problem for potential homebuyers was lack of liquidity in securing an adequate loan whereby they could only secure funding for up to 80% of the purchase price of their home."

The new Home Choice Loan announced in the Budget provides up to 92% loan to value mortgage for first time buyers who are earning a minimum of €40,000 subject to maximum loan of €285,000.

"When prices were going up, buyers anticipated that they would continue to go up. Now that prices have fallen, buyers anticipate that they will continue to fall," said Mr Fitzpatrick.

He added: "There comes a turning point beyond which prices will fall no more, stabilise and then rise again. Some economists will continue to report house price falls some months after house prices have stabilised. I believe that we have reached that turning point in growth areas."

(PR/JM)