Ireland was the sixth-fastest-growing property market in the year to September 2017 according to a new survey of global property prices by Global Property Guide.

Europe’s ‘austerity star performer’ saw property prices rising 7.6% behind Iceland (18.8%), Hong Kong (13.1%), Macau (10.5%), Canada (9.7%) and Romania (9.4%).

This is in stark comparison to U.K. house prices, which grew 0.1% and are expected to start to decline in 2018.

The worst performers were Greece (-1.6%), Russia (-6.7%), Egypt (-8.7%), the United Arab Emirates (-2.8%) and Qatar (-2.3%).

House prices continued to rise in the U.S. at 3.8%.

On a quaterly basis, Irish house prices increased 2.7% in the third quarter, putting Ireland again in the top 10 global performers. Egypt was on top, with 7.7% growth, while Qatar was the worst at almost -9%.

While Irish prices are expected to continue to rise into 2018, market experts are forecasting a slowdown in the pace of any increase.

Property website myhome.ie said house prices would continue to grow across the country in 2018, with an estimated increase of 8%. However, stricter Central Bank rules on loan-to-income ratios will likely slow house price inflation in Dublin.