Investors spent more money on big commercial property deals in the first six months of this year than in any previous six-month period, as buyers continued to flood the market.

Research from property firm CBRE claims that more than €1.37bn was invested in the Irish market between January and June on transactions of more than €1bn.

That is the highest six-month figure on record, higher even than the peak of the boom in 2006 when investment topped €1.09bn. Indeed, the volume of investment sales recorded in the first half of 2014 is almost a fifth higher than the 10 year average annual spend for the first half of a year.

The growth has been driven by the glut of top level property deals that have been done since the crash.

There were 77 individual transactions of over €1m completed in the first half of the year. Two deals – the €311.5m sale of Central Park in Leopardstown and a 72pc stake in Liffey Valleyy shopping centre for €250m – make up more than a third of the overall total. The Platinum portfolio of office blocks in central Dublin meanwhile was sold for about €165m.

Although office and mixed use investments comprised the majority of properties transacted over the first six months of 2014, there has been a notable increase in investment in retail assets over the last six months with 24pc of this year’s total comprising retail assets. That is in comparison to the same period in 2013 when they made up just 8pc of the total.

Real Estate Investment Trusts meanwhile have quickly become big players in the market in a very short space of time. The three Irish REITs accounted for nearly 40pc of all major deals done this year.