Lisburn and Castlereagh are home to visitor attractions from Hillsborough Castle to Dundonald Ice Bowl to farmer’s marketing and retail centres such as Forestside shopping centre.
After being named as the top property investment spot in Ulster, the Lisburn and Castlereagh areas have added a new boast to their names.
It forecasts house price growth of 16% – with the typical house reaching around £170,000 – over the next five years.
It’s already the most lavish council area to purchase a house, with the Northern Ireland property price index giving it a standardised pricing of £146,662 – compared to the lowest price tag of around £109,411 in Londonderry City and Strabane.
The council area stretches from the south east Belfast districts of Newtownbreda and Four Winds to Hillsborough, Carryduff and Lisburn.
Ulster University economic policy centre senior economist Esmond Birnie said the allure of Lisburn and Castlereagh comes with its location.
“It has the advantage of being in the greater Belfast metropolitan area economy without any of the disadvantages of being within the traditional city limits,” he said.
“And because price levels generally start from a lower level than a location like North Down, prices in the area have more scope to grow.”
Barclays’ UK Property Predictor takes various factors into account such as employment patterns and rental trends as well as the existing market to create an index of property hotspots.
It also continued to mention that the predicted growth is partly due to forecast population expansion of 4.8% by 2021.
As stated by Land and Property Services’ latest index, the standardised house price in the area of £146,662 for the first quarter of 2017 increased by 3% on the previous year.
Lisburn and Castlereagh councillor and chairman of its development committee, Uel Mackin, stated the Barclays research was “excellent news”
“We are fortunate to have a mix of urban and rural lifestyle combining city life with the charm of our villages and being positioned along the Belfast to Dublin economic corridor we are perfectly placed for both business and travel,” he said.
“Commuters spend less time in traffic and no doubt this has a knock-on effect on health and wellbeing.”
“Home to many of Northern Ireland’s top tourist and leisure facilities, such as Dundonald Ice Bowl, Lagan Valley LeisurePlex and Hillsborough Castle – the only Historic Royal Palace located outside of London – Lisburn and Castlereagh is also a desirable place to visit for all ages.”
“There is a strong sense of community and the people and businesses are extremely proud of Lisburn and Castlereagh.”
Newtownbreda is home to Inns Market, the monthly farmers’ market that has been returning for three years.
Joanne McErlain of marketing firm We Are Babble stated-: “When we started Inns Market almost three years ago, there really wasn’t very much in the Newtownbreda area that was community spirited and which catered to the leisure time aspirations of its population.”
“Farmers’ markets were not really en vogue in Northern Ireland, even three years ago, but there were plenty of other examples in our neighbouring jurisdictions of the positive impact they have on local communities and the local economy.”
“We made a firm decision to support primary and artisan producers, with provenance at the heart of the ethos of Inns Market. In the three years since we started, it has become part of the fabric of Newtownbreda.”
“Inns Market is an independently funded initiative but we are delighted that Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has supported us.”
