The average price of a house in Ireland is now €230,000.

Prices rose by an average of 4.3% in the first three months of the year, according to the latest report by Daft.ie.

It is the largest increase in two years.

House prices in Galway and Limerick Cities have risen by over 16%, while Dublin has seen a jump of nearly 9%.

Average list price and year-on-year change – major cities, Q1 2017

The fall in the total number of properties for sale nationwide continues, with just 20,500 homes on the market in March, down from almost 24,000 a year ago.

This figure is at its lowest since October 2006 and is down two-thirds (67.4%) from the October 2008 peak of almost 63,000.

Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, said: “The combined effect of the tweaks to Central Bank mortgage rules and the new help-to-buy scheme has been to significantly stimulate first-time buyer demand. This is seen in renewed house price growth, particularly in and around the major cities.

“While there may have been a political motive to these measures, it is important now that the chronic lack of construction activity becomes the main focus for policymakers.”