Irish house prices climb 1.6 percent in October

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish residential property prices grew at their second fastest monthly rate this year in October, increasing 1.6 percent from the previous month, but the annual growth rate continued to slip. While property prices across Ireland are on average 33.5 percent below their 2007 peak, the country's central bank introduced restrictions on mortgage lending in January to try to ensure rises do not return to unsustainable levels amid a supply shortage. The annual rate of growth slowed to 7.6 percent in October, the lowest level since January 2014. Prices posted their fastest growth of the year in August, when they increased by 2.3 percent on a monthly basis. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Louise Ireland)