€198m worth of transactions took place in the prime country home market last year, according to new figures from Savills Ireland.
This was the highest level since the Property Price Register was introduced in 2012.
Transactions in this market are defined as deals greater than one million euros and located outside of Dublin, the major regional cities, and north Wicklow.
Comparing last year with 2021, total transaction values increased by 48% from €134m to €198m.
With the average deal value remaining at approximately €1.5m, the figures show that the increase was driven by more transactions taking place in 2022, with 130 compared to 86 in 2021.
The comparison with the pre-covid era is even more pronounced, with €65m and €99m taking place in 2018 and 2019 across 46 and 49 deals respectively.
International buyers accounted for 43% of deals, while cash buyers remained the dominant financing arrangement, with 90% of buyers in this market segment acquiring properties without financing agreements, up from 87% in 2021.
James Butler, Head of Country Agency at Savills Ireland said prime country homes continue to be in strong demand as remote and flexible working is now a viable working pattern for many.
"Buyers in this segment of the market are likely to be in more senior positions so are granted more flexibility in how they allocate time between the office and working from home," he said.
"Changes to where and how people work have made country living more viable for these more established workers who may not be required to be in the office all the time.
"This helps explain the extraordinary boost in sales volumes witnessed in 2022 and is likely to be a feature of the prime country homes market this year and beyond," he added.
Cork County is the most popular location in Savills analysis of prime country home transactions, making up 28% of all purchases.
