New Daft report reveals the cheapest place in Ireland to buy a house

The property market in Ireland is continuing to grow, with the average price for a house nationwide surpassing the €200,000 mark.

For the first time since 2011, the average asking price for a home in Ireland has gone over €200,000. While that might be a bit of a worry, it's still a ways off the highest point of €378,000 that we saw in 2007, but the trend is still moving upwards for the majority of counties in Ireland.

In Dublin, prices have risen 2.9% since the end of 2014, however areas outside the capital have seen an average increase of 5.9%. Across the nation, that was as a result of rises in property prices in Cork (up 7.2%), while Galway and Limerick rose by 6.8% and 6.7% respectively. In Waterford, the increase was 4.9%, while outside the cities the average increase was 5.8%. Despite all the rises, Leitrim remains the cheapest spot in Ireland to buy a house, with the average price of a three-bed semi-detached costing €55,000.

Ronan Lyons, in-house economist for Daft, breaks down the reasoning behind the figures in the full report on their website: "It is clear that the Central Bank rules have had an impact on the market. Dublin prices are now anchored to real economic conditions, with survey respondents expecting significantly slower house price growth now than a year ago. Similarly, compared to a year ago, a far higher proportion of respondents, in the capital and elsewhere, indicated the need to save for a deposit as a key reason for delaying buying a home". He added that the new rules seem to have had a positive impact on prices outside the capital, which is shown by this infographic that outlines some of the findings from the first quarter of 2015.