The price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in Cork City has risen by 1.5% to €340,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance.

And the survey has shown that 40% of sales in the City are to first-time buyers, with 10% of all purchasers coming from outside the area.

Prices across the county remained unchanged at €206,000 this quarter, and the average time taken to sell is four weeks, the Q1 REA Average House Price Index has shown.

“There has been a significant uplift in new developments coming to the market since the start of the year, which is reflected in a general increase in sales,” said Michael O’Donoghue of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke, Cork.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Nationally, house prices are increasing at an average of almost €100 a day as the market shows no signs of slowing up in the early months of 2022, the survey has found.

Average house prices rose by 3.16% nationally in the first three months of year, matching the 1% a month increases experienced during the Celtic Tiger days.

And illustrating the two-tier nature of the market, 59% of all purchasers were first-time buyers, that figure rising to 76% in Dublin as people with mortgage approval scramble to get on the housing ladder.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by almost €9,000 over the past three months to €278,500 – representing an annual increase of over 14%.

The average three bed in Dublin is fast approaching the €500,000 mark, with actual selling prices rising by 2.2% since the new year, to an average of €481,250.

Commuter counties saw prices increase 4.47% – a jump of €13,000 to €305,000 – and double the rate of increase seen in the capital.

In the rest of the country, where prices rose 3.4% to €196,569, the survey found that one in every three buyers were from outside the county as new working conditions enable a rethink on home bases.