Over the last few months, house prices have not been rising as quickly. Although national asking prices are up 3.0 per cent on a year ago, this is about half the 5.8 per cent pace of last year, meaning that sellers are adjusting down what they think they can get when they put their homes on the market.

Meanwhile, agreed sale prices are up just 0.8 per cent, the slowest in six years. This is a big shift. Another signal is that the premium that buyers were prepared to pay over the asking price has narrowed from 6.8 per cent to 2.6 per cent. Buyers are no longer being bullied into paying way over the odds because they fear being outbid by someone else. Given the role psychology plays in markets, such a change in dynamics is significant.

We forget the role of emotions in markets at our peril, because the “mood” plays a huge part in the way people see prices and bargains. Sometimes, my profession, the economists, don’t get this. When economists see a price, we see a number; when ordinary people see a price, they get a feeling. It is this feeling that makes them confident, or anxious, as the case may be. Confidence pushes people to pay the extra bit over the asking price; anxiety has the opposite effect.

We are seeing a sharp reversal of behaviour. For example, in Dublin, according to the latest Daft report (Daft Q3 2026), sale prices fell 5.2 per cent year-on-year, the largest annual fall since 2014, and this fall has accelerated over the summer, with prices dropping 2 per cent in the three months to September. Asking prices are still up 2.7 per cent, so the gap between what sellers want and what buyers will pay is wider in Dublin than in any other region in the State.

The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In review: A turkey with all the trimmings. End this craic........

© The Irish Times