Residential property prices in Ireland fell by 0.6% in October, bringing an end to a three month upswing in house values.

The Residential Property Price Index, published by the Central Statistics Office, shows that residential property prices were 15.1% lower at the end of last month than at the same point in 2011.

Residential property prices fell by 0.6% in October, following on from rises of 0.2% in July, 0.5% in August and 0.9% in September. The values of such properties have fallen by 8.1% so far this year.

The data shows that house prices in Dublin are 55% below the high point recorded in February 2007, with the value of apartments in the city now 63% lower than they were five and a half years ago.

However, the CSO figures are based on mortgages and do not take into account cash transactions.