The average house price has risen 5.7%
The average house price in Northern Ireland has risen to £125,000 in the last year, a rise of 5.7%, latest figures have demonstrated.
This positive news is countered by concerns over the weak supply, with the UK House Index revealing a 18% decline in house sales in the Q4 2016.
In Northern Ireland, 5,081 house sales were conducted in the last three months of 2016, down from 6,163 in 2015. This has been confirmed by the Office for National Statistics, Land Registry and other bodies.
Richard McCulloch, Managing Director of McCulloch Estate Agents, has commented that the 5.7% increase has been reflected in his properties.
“There has definitely been an increase over the last year, based on the transactions we have seen, and that would be uniform across both offices,” he said.
Mr McCullough also stated that those buyers who were initially put off by Brexit are now active again and taking action in the market. However the lack of supply was a significant concern.
“We would find a house will go on the market and then there’ll be two or three offers on it. It will go for over the asking price, which is great for the vendor and the estate, but not so good if it continues to put pressure on prices,” he added.
“I would say we are seeing house price increases across all house types, but in the category of large detached homes, there is very little supply.”
The UK average property value was £218,000 in January, which is £13,000 or 6.2% higher than it had been in a year ago in January 2016.
The house price figure for Northern Ireland relates to the fourth quarter of 2016.
The report also highlighted that UK house prices were continuing to see “strong growth”, with average values up by 6.2% in the year to January and increasing by 0.8% month-on-month. However, annual price growth is still below an average increase of 7.4% seen in 2016.
There are signs that “moderate demand” in the housing market is out-matching supply, the report added.
