Vol. 469 No. 6
56 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for the Environment the monitoring procedures in place to monitor house prices; the noticeable increase, if any, in new house prices; his views on the price levels of houses; and the consideration, if any, he has given to this matter. [17907/96]
Data on prices of new and existing houses for which loans are approved by the main mortgage lending agencies are supplied to my Department on a quarterly basis and published, in aggregate form, in the Department's Housing Statistics Bulletin, copies of which are in the Oireachtas Library. The most recently published bulletin indicates that average new house prices increased by 10.5 per cent nationally between the June quarter 1995 and the June quarter 1996. Factors underlying the increase in prices include strong growth in the economy, historically low interest rates and a ready availability of mortgage finance.
