The average price of a second-hand, three-bed semi in County Kilkenny rose by 1% in the first three months of the year, according to the latest national survey by Real Estate Alliance.

The average cost of three-bed homes in the county is now €265,000, up from €262,500 in December 2022, the Q1 REA Average House Price Index shows.

By concentrating on the actual sale price of three-bed semis, the survey provides an up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Across Co Kilkenny, first-time buyers made up 40% of the market during Q1 with 10% of purchasers moving out of the cities.

The average time taken to complete a sale in the county is now five weeks, down from an average of six in the previous quarter, the survey shows.

The average cost of a similar property in Kilkenny city remained unchanged at €310,000, while the time to sell of four weeks was also unchanged from the previous quarter.

“The first few months has seen very little change in the property market and is the same as previous quarters,” said Michael Boyd of REA Boyd’s, in Kilkenny.

In Callan, the average price for a three-bed semi is now €220,000, up 2.33% from an average of €215,000 in the previous quarter, while the time to sell in the town remained unchanged at seven weeks over the same period.

“Supply is very low with few properties going to market at the moment,” said Robbie Grace of REA Grace, in Callan.

Across the rest of Ireland, the actual selling price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached rose by 0.6% over the past three months to €293,343 – representing an annual increase of 5.3%.

House prices in Dublin recovered after a pre-Christmas fall and rose by 0.5% to €498,333 in the past three months, slightly exceeding last September’s prices and showing an annual rise of 3.5%.

Mirroring the capital, cities outside Dublin experienced a 0.4% rise to an average selling price of €310,250.

The smallest percentage increases came in commuter counties where average prices went from €312,778 to €313,056 – a rise of just 0.1% on average over three months.

The country’s large towns saw the largest quarterly increase at 1%, with prices now averaging €211,776 and properties selling faster at an average of five weeks, than in cities or commuter areas.

Nationally, first-time purchasers make up 60% of the market, the quarterly survey has found.

The actual selling price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by 0.6% over the past three months to €293,343 – representing an annual increase of 5.3%.