Prices in Dublin’s prime property market are growing at the fastest rate of any city in Europe. For the second consecutive quarter Dublin’s prime residential properties, defined as the top 5 per cent of the housing market, increased by 0.9per cent to 5.5 per cent on an annual basis.

The closest performing cities recorded substantially lower growth rates, with Monaco and Geneva both growing at 1.8 per cent, followed by Edinburgh with 1.6per cent growth.

The Knight Frank Global Prime Cities index increased by 3.8 per cent in the year to September 2016. Dublin remained in 13th position globally while a general decline was observed in prime global property prices.

The report attributed this slowing effect to local government policy measures to cool demand in overheated markets.

Vancouver remains top of the global index, but its quarterly price growth slipped to 1.5 per cent in the three months to September, due, in part, to the introduction of a 15 per cent tax for foreign buyers.

Similarly Sydney, Melbourne and Toronto, and many Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, registered slower rates of growth in the last quarter following the imposition of new taxes including higher stamp duty, additional taxes for foreign buyers or the closing of tax loop holes for non-residents.

Knight Frank also attributed the general slowdown to global factors, and in particular a wait and see approach being triggered by the election in the US of Donald Trump as president. It also predicts further currency fluctuations to come and likely move among investors to prime properties "safe haven" markets.