House prices rose by 6.4% in the year to December.

The CSO says that's the biggest annual increase in property prices since 2007, and compares to a decrease of 4.5% the previous year.

Prices were almost 16% higher in Dublin last month when compared with December 2012 - apartment prices were almost 21% higher.

This CSO graph tracks the recovery in the property market

Outside of Dublin prices were unchanged on the previous year.

The CSO figures show a marked improvement in the sale of apartments

Yesterday, a report from the Chartered Surveyors showed a corresponding rise in property prices nationwide for 2013. According to their figures, the increase is closer to 15.7%.

And earlier in the week, European agency Eurostat said Irish house prices are rising faster than almost every other country in Europe.