Irish house prices rise at fastest pace in six years House prices in Ireland on average are still 49pc off their peak seen in early 2007. Source: Central Statistics Office Aside from Greece, Irish house prices fell the most among countries in the 12 months to September 30, according to data by Knight Frank LLP. Ireland's property bubble burst spectacularly after peaking in 2007 as years of reckless lending left banks with huge losses and homeowners with hefty mortgage repayments. The crash has been the one of the steepest and most disastrous of any developed country since the Second World War. Over the famed Celtic Tiger years - a period between 1995 and 2007 when the Irish economy was growing by five to six per cent annually - average house prices mushroomed by 330 per cent (and more than 500 per cent in parts of Dublin). As many as 700,000 new houses were built during these years - almost one for every six of Ireland's 4.6 million citizens. By 2007 the Irish building industry accounted for 25 per cent of GDP and 20 per cent of jobs.