The price of the average three-bed semi in County Monaghan is expected to rise by 7% in the next 12 months, according to a survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

It is the second highest predicted increase nationwide after Galway city, on 8%, the Q4 REA Average House Price Index shows.

Prices in the county rose by 1.1% between September and December to €180,000 with average three-bed semis rising by €2,000 as the option to work from home incentivises buyers to move away from urban centres.

“We have noticed an increase of people who have moved from Dublin up to Carrickmacross,” said Dermot Conlon of REA Gunne, Carrickmacross, where time to sell is unchanged at six weeks this quarter.

“Now that they can work from home for a few days a week, they are willing to move to the country.

“We feel that the lockdown and Brexit have left the market a little uncertain, and the supply of housing has not been addressed which may be a worrying trend going into 2021.”

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.

Average house prices rose by almost 1.5% nationally over the past three months in a market fuelled by a combination of record mortgage approvals and an unprecedented lack of supply, the Q4 REA Average House Price Index found.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by more than €3,000 over the past three months to €239,194 – an annual increase of 1.9%.

The biggest rises in Q4 came in Ireland’s secondary cities and the commuter counties – both of whom had experienced the least movement in prices over the preceding 18 months.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house in Dublin City rose by 0.6% to €431,833 during the past three months, an annual increase of 1.41%.

Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities shared a combined increase of 2.4% in the past 12 weeks with prices rising by €6,000 to an average of €262,500.

Commuter counties are now feeling the benefit of the migration towards space and home working potential, with three bed semis rising 2.2% by almost €6,000 on the Q3 figure to an average of €253,111.

Reflecting the flight to rural locations, prices in the rest of the country’s towns rose by 1.2% in 12 weeks to €165,397.