In conjunction with the first games of the European Championships getting underway, new research has revealed which countries have fared best with house prices over the last four years.

The latest study carried out by international real estate agent Knight Frank shows that of all the countries competing in this year’s tournament, mainstream home costs have gone up in over 74% of them.

Top of the rankings was Turkey with a 65.6% increase, then came the Republic of Ireland with a 34.3% price growth and third was Sweden with a 32% rise.

After the top three came Iceland with an increase of 30.6%, England with 29.7%, Germany with 19.7%, Austria with 16.5%, Northern Ireland with 15.6%, Russia with 15.2%, Wales with 14.1%, Switzerland with 10.3%, the Czech Republic with 8.2%, Hungary with 8.1%, Belgium with 4%, Poland with 1.8%, Portugal with 1.4% and Slovakia with 0.9%.

At the other end of the scale, Ukraine fared worst as house prices fell by 22.6%, but this can be attributed to the country’s recent unrest over the last few years.

Italy was next from bottom with a 13.1% decrease, followed by Croatia whose prices fell by 9%, Spain by 7.2%, France by 5.7% and Romania by 0.5%.

Knight Frank’s Head of International Residential Research, Kate Everett-Allen, highlighted the differing performance between the north and south of Europe.

She said that England, Ireland, Germany and the Nordic countries have enjoyed the biggest rise in house prices, while countries in the south of the continent have seen property prices fall below their level of four years ago.

However, last month saw property prices in England and Wales drop by their sharpest rate in almost five years due to the uncertainty that surrounds the upcoming EU referendum.

House prices in London fell by 0.3%, equivalent to £1,769 month on month, however Slough saw an increase of 23% year on year.