Searches for new homes increased by 125% last week on the back of the 'Help-to-buy' scheme launch, according to Daft.ie.

The property website recorded an increase of 125% in searches for new homes when compared with the same period last year. It hosts 2.21 million unique users each month, with an average of more than 1,000 property searches every minute.

Properties in the Dublin area got the greatest amount of clicks, along with Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Wexford and Limerick. There are currently 2,302 Dublin homes advertised on the site.

Daft.ie's Martin Clancy said:

“The spike in searches on Tuesday was quite significant and points to an increased interest in new homes for the new year after the launch of the help-to-buy initiative.”

“The greatest interest was in Clonsilla, with searches for new builds surging by 145%. The Dublin 15 suburb has several new developments that qualify for the first-time buyers scheme.”

A report from Daft.ie last week claimed that prices around the country rose by 8% last year. A separate MyHome.ie survey put the annual increase at 5.5%.