Advertised property prices dropped at a slower pace in the September quarter than earlier in 2009, the Central Bank said today.

It said in its Quarterly Review that advertised prices dropped by 2.5 per cent. There had been a drop of six per cent in the second quarter and 9.9 per cent in the first.

"The third quarter's relatively modest fall in the index appears to indicate that the recent negative trend in property prices is reversing course," the bank said.

It said the number of advertised properties dropped by 24.1 per cent following a 28 per cent decline in the June quarter. The number of building permits issued by Mepa was down by 39 per cent in the third quarter.

The CBM said lower asking prices were reported in half of the eight categories it covered in its survey. The biggest contributors to the decline were shell and finished flats, with prices falling by seven per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. These categories together make up more than half of the monitored properties.

Reductions of 4.2 per cent and 8.9 per cent were registered in the asking prices of finished maisonettes and town houses, respectively.

Demand for terraced houses appeared to have remained buoyant and prices increased by 3.4 per cent.

Prices for houses of character villas and maisonettes in shell form rose by 5.6 per cent, four per cent and 5.6 per cent, respecitvely.