House prices were down 4.7% in November compared with the year earlier period, the national statistics office said on Friday.

The drop is slightly higher than in October, when houses were 4% cheaper than in 2012. Compared with August 2008, when house prices reached a peak, prices are now down by over 20%.

The number of properties changing hands in the first 11 months of 2013 is down 5.3% on 2012 but the total has been rising over the past five months.