The Irish Independent has analysed the 26 counties listed on the PPR, which shows that excluding Dublin, then Kilkenny, Cork, Wicklow, Kildare and Galway recorded some of the most expensive house sales in the three months to October 31, according to the (PPR).

Kilcreene Lodge, a 17th Century Italianate Mansion with Jacobean and Victorian features situated in Kilkenny, sold for €4.25m last month. The property went on the market for €3.25m.

The eight-bedroomed house, which boasts five reception rooms, was, for generations, home to the Smithwick brewing family.

In the same period last year, the most expensive house sold in Kilkenny was Norelands at Stoneyford, which went for €1.35m, according to the PPR.

Ella Dunphy, an estate agent based in the ‘Marble City’, said the market is impacted by a combination of people wanting to live in bigger houses and buyers relocating from Dublin  after selling property in the capital.

“The height of the market in Dublin is different from the height of the market in Kilkenny,” Ms Dunphy said.

“There are also so little big homes coming to the market that properties are making a premium price because of a shortage in supply.”

Another driver of prices for high-end homes is that “Kilkenny is renowned for its cultural and culinary…and only one hour and fifteen minutes from Dublin,” Ms Dunphy added.

In West Cork, The Rocket House, a former coastguard station sitting on the edge of the water, sold for just over €2.5m.

Built in 1841, the home includes two reception rooms, seven bedrooms, and two conservatories.

Last year the most expensive house sold in Cork over the three-month period to October 31 was the six-bedroom Ashton Park House located on the exclusive Blackrock Road, which went for over €1.8m.

In Galway, Lough Rusheen House in Knocknacarra was sold for €3m in September, according to PPR data.

Michael Mullery, of Mullery Auctioneers in Galway, says there is “good” demand for homes up to €1m in the city, with a smaller pool for houses over the €1m mark.

Along with locals, the buyer profile includes some people moving back to Galway from Dublin as well as some expats.

Demand for more expensive houses is “particularly strong” in the areas of Salthill and Barna, according to Mr Mullery.

Elsewhere, Dunsallagh House located at Kilgarron Hill, Enniskerry, sold for €2.35m.

The American neo-gothic style home, which was built in 2002, has ornate gothic windows and an octagonal turret give.

A five-bedroom mansion, the house also has a gym and snooker room, the latter room boasting views over Enniskerry and Bray.

Meanwhile, in Louth, Roxbury House, a five-bed home that is 740 square metres in size and situated on four acres, sold for €1.35m during the three-month period, according to the PPR.

The house includes a heated indoor pool, a garage that can hold up to five cars, and a separate building, located away from the home, which can be used as an office or studio.

The property, which was designed and built in 2001 in the style of an American villa, is located outside the picturesque village of Termonfeckin, while also being less than one-hour drive from Dublin.

Overall, Kenure on Westminster Road in the leafy suburb of Foxrock in Dublin – which went for €5m – was the most expensive home sold in the three months to October 31.

With the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showing a sharp rise in the price of houses outside of Dublin, Pat Davitt, CEO of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, says there is currently “a lot of demand for one-off properties with a bit of land or a view.

“In some cases, prices are gone up by more than 20pc-25pc for one-off houses.”

When it comes to expensive homes, many people buying the property are paying in cash, he added.

House prices were up by 12.4pc across the country in the year to September, according to the CSO. The pace of property price rises is picking up.

Prices rose by 1.6pc in the month of September. Over the last year, prices in Dublin were up by 11.5pc.

But outside of the capital and its suburbs, there were even sharper rises, with an increase annually of 13.2pc, as the housing crisis deepened and spread across the State.

Marian Finnegan managing director of Sherry FitzGerald Residential & Advisory, said there is more interest in houses in regional Ireland, including at the upper end of the market.

“There has not been much activity here [in the regionals] in recent years and stock has been low,” Ms Finnegan said.