DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish annual residential property price growth eased to 7.1 percent in November, the lowest level in almost 2-1/2 years, as prices fell on a monthly basis for the first time since the end of 2016.
A sharp recovery in house prices that began five years ago and accelerated again in 2017 amid tight supply has begun to cool since annual growth rose above 13 percent last April, as prospective buyers' affordability is stretched.
Prices fell 0.5 month-on-month on a national basis, easing annual growth to 5 percent in Dublin and 9.3 percent outside the capital, the first time it has fallen below 10 percent since late 2016. National prices are 18 percent below the peak hit at the height of a property bubble just over a decade ago.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Catherine Evans)
