Hints of a Corner Finally Turned in Ireland HOME prices are rising. In Ireland. That news hardly indicates that Ireland has come out of its long downturn, one that was brought on by a property boom stoked by irresponsible lending. But the upturn in real estate prices nonetheless provided a note of cheer this week in a country whose consumers were already more optimistic - or at least less pessimistic - than they had been in years. The Central Statistics Office reported that prices of residences in Ireland - homes and apartments - were 1.2 percent higher in June than they had been a year earlier. As can be seen from the accompanying charts, it was the first time since January 2008 that home prices rose over a 12-month period. The recovery, such as it is, is concentrated in the Dublin region, where it appears that the huge backlog of overbuilding has finally been worked off. That is not true in some other parts of the country, where prices continue to decline. And even with the latest increase, the index of residential prices is 50 percent below the peak level, and mortgage delinquencies continue to rise. Prices of apartments have fallen further than house prices, declining 60 percent from the peak, compared with a 48 percent decline for houses. Before the real estate prices were reported, the KBC Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index rose in June to the highest level since late 2007. As can be seen from the charts, which trace the two components of that index, that is largely because of an increase in the index of economic expectations, which is higher than at any time since July 2007. The index of current conditions remains in the range it has languished for several years. The latest increase in consumer confidence came as something of a surprise, and Austin Hughes, an analyst at KBC Bank, said it might be partly because of exceptionally good weather while the survey was being conducted. "It remains the case that Irish consumers are cautious and the improvement in sentiment is still fragile," he said, "but the June sentiment reading is consistent with the view that the Irish economy is edging forward rather than slipping backward." He added, "Signs of an improvement in both the jobs market and the property market of late appear to have eased consumer fears." The government also reported this week that 2,009 new homes were completed in the second quarter of this year, 11 more than in the same period of 2012. It was the first time since December 2006 that three-month figures showed a year-over-year gain. But the figures still remain extremely low. For the last 12 months, 8,259 homes were finished. That is fewer than were finished in the single month of December 2006, while the property boom was at its strongest.