Irish house prices rising at much higher rate than most EU states

House prices in Ireland are rising at a much higher rate than in most EU countries, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

Comparing figures for the three months to June this year with the first quarter, the average increase in the cost of a house in Ireland was six times more than the average in the EU.

This was the fourth biggest increase in the 23 countries for which figures were available. Prices in Latvia were up 5.1% as the country comes out of a recession, followed by Estonia (3.7%), Denmark (3.1%) and Ireland (3.2%).