No prizes for guessing which county is the most expensive on the list.

It is of course, Dublin, where the price of the average three-bed semi-detached house broke the €400,000 barrier in the first quarter of 2017, according to the REA’s (Real Estate Alliance) Average House Price Index. With prices having risen by 3.9% in Dublin in the first three months of this year, the average three-bed semi in Dublin now costs €404,167, a rise of €15,000 in the last three months and an increase of 12.8% in the past year alone. South county Dublin (€380,000), Cork city (€305,000), north county Dublin (€282,500) and Wicklow all featured high on the list of areas with the most expensive house prices in the country, well above the national average of €209,944. At the other end of the scale, meanwhile, the cheapest house prices are to be found in Longford (€81,000), Donegal (€87, 500) and Leitrim (€93,000). See the list in full below. While the most expensive house prices are to be found in the capital, the most significant price increase in the first quarter of 2017 came in Kilkenny, where the price of a three-bed semi is now €182,500, having increased by 10.6% in the last three months. Overall, average house prices across the country have risen by 10.9% over the past 12 months – a marked increase on the 7.7% rise registered to the end of December 2016. REA say that the easing of the Central Bank restriction on lending for first-time buyers has had an immediate effect on the market with a large rise in numbers at viewings and potential buyers with mortgage financing. Supply, however, remains extremely limited. “There has been a recovery in bank lending, which has been reflected in the purchasing end, but the accelerated figures in the Dublin market particularly, show that we are moving into a vendors’ marketplace,” said REA spokesperson Healy Hynes. “Many private vendors are now emerging from negative equity and can afford to make the move from the starter to the second home. “However, we need to look at these figures in relation to the market where stock levels are at their lowest nationwide since January 2007. “Although mortgage drawdowns at 29,498, were up 12% in Q4 2016, they were actually less than they were in 1980 when the economy was in deep recession. “At a current average price of €136,194, and an annual compound rise of 12.9%, it will be 2021 at the earliest before it becomes economic to build outside the cities.”