05/06/2006

NI house prices rise by £600 per week

House prices in Northern Ireland are rising by around £600 per week, a study published today has revealed.

The latest quarterly price index, compiled by the University of Ulster, has showed that the average price of a home was £153,868, an increase of £31,000 since last year.

Detached houses are experiencing the greatest price rise, showing an average of £237,749 - an increase of almost 30%.

Belfast has also seen the average house price rising by 23.6%, however Lisburn saw the greatest price hike with the average increasing by 44%

The report, which was produce in association with the Housing Executive and the Bank of Ireland, covered 2200 transactions reported by 108 estate agents` firms.

Terraced and town houses saw an increase of 29% with semi-detached houses rising by 23% and bungalows rising more steadily by 19.7%.

Detached bungalows also failed to match the growth of the rest of the market with a rate of 11.9% reaching an average of £184,045.

Apartment prices continued to show a variable performance over time, rising by 19.2%.

In Belfast, the overall average price of a home was £145,051, whereas South Belfast remained the strongest performing area in the city.

All property types in Lisburn experienced "rampant rates of increase."

Prices in Craigavon and Armagh also saw a 39% annual rise, while Derry and Strabane experiencing significant growth at more than 30%.

The number of properties with a value of less than £100,000 also appear to disappearing, with only a fifth of the sales (20%) in the £50,000 to £100,000 bracket.

Louise Brown, one of the authors of the study, along with Professors Alistair Adair and Stanley McGreal, said it was difficult to see how the growth rate of 25% across Northern Ireland could continue.

She said: "Having said that, the 25% growth in this survey is not a one-off - it's very comparable with the rates of increase during the second half of 2005.

"These are boom conditions that appear to be the result of strong investment activity, relatively cheap borrowing costs and an undersupply of properties."

Despite the housing boom, the average cost of a house in Northern Ireland is £30,000 lower than those south of the border.

The average cost of properties are: Lisburn, £188,772; South Belfast, £188,069; Enniskillen/Fermanagh/South Tyrone, £169,402; Mid and South Down, £167,886; North Down, £166,264; Coleraine, Limavady and the North Coast, £165,591; East Belfast, £165,432; Mid Ulster, £163,446; Antrim/Ballymena, £155,319; Craigavon/Armagh, £144,157; Derry/Strabane, £140,747; East Antrim, £120,163; West Belfast, £113,052; North Belfast, £107,673.

(EF/SP)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

05 March 2015
Energy Firm To Cut Prices In 'Selected' Parts Of NI
Gas supply firm, Firmus Energy, has announced it will cut prices by up to 6.38% for customers living in the greater Belfast area, however prices will remain the same for consumers living outside the city. The announcement follows a recent review of prices in the greater Belfast area.
05 December 2006
NI house prices rise dramatically
House prices in Northern Ireland are now rising at more than 32% a year, according to a survey of local residential property sales.
04 July 2007
Rising house prices ‘taking toll’ on incomes
A new report has revealed that rising house prices in Northern Ireland are taking their toll on borrowing and savings. The report, produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that the monthly mortgage repayments in the province are now 150% of the average weekly take-home pay – almost twice the level of a decade ago.
06 September 2004
NI house prices continue to rise
The growth in house prices in Northern Ireland has accelerated, according to the latest University of Ulster Quarterly House Price Index. The survey for the quarter April to June 2004 revealed that the overall average price of residential property reached a new high of £112,806, up 4.7% on the first quarter of the year.
15 October 2018
Belfast House Prices Drop By £44,000
A recent report has found that the average house price in Belfast has slumped by over £44,000 in the last ten years. In contrast, 19 of the UK's other main cities have seen property prices increase since the financial crisis struck.