House prices continue to rise

The price of new build houses in Northern Ireland are rising at a dramatic rate and are now only one third below their peak in 2007.

In what is an eight year high for new build property, existing buildings are also increasing in price but significantly slower. New dwellings showed an increase of 8.4 per cent over the quarter while resold dwellings showed an increase of 2.3 per cent. The annual increase in the price of new dwellings was 12.5 per cent while the price of existing resold dwellings increased by 2.9 per cent since Q2 2016.

The recently released Northern Ireland House Price Index for Q2 of 2017 shows a 3.2 per cent rise in house prices from the first quarter and a rise across the year of 4.4 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

While all property types increased across the quarter, apartments were recognised as the biggest increase (4.1 per cent), terrace houses increased by 3.5 per cent and both detached and semi-detached properties rose by 2.8 per cent.

A total of 5,106 residential property sales were verified over the quarter, although this number is expected to be revised upwards due to late sales notified to HMRC and new properties being entered into the Northern Ireland Valuation List.

The overall average cost of a home in Northern Ireland is currently £128,650. These average costs vary across council areas. All council areas recorded an increase over the quarter and annually. In Q2, Fermanagh and Omagh saw the largest increase of 5.6 per cent and Derry City and Strabane had the smallest increase of 0.6 per cent.

Over the year, Belfast reported the smallest increase of 1 per cent, while Mid Ulster’s price index rose by 9.1 per cent.