THE PROPERTY market in Belfast showed “clear signs of recovery” in the second quarter of this year, with average values in south Belfast, the North’s highest-priced location, rising to £225,592 (€284,560).
Latest research from the University of Ulster suggests some stability and growth is evident in certain parts of Northern Ireland’s housing market.
But the University of Ulster’s Quarterly House Price Index, produced in partnership with Bank of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, also highlights that this is not the case across the North as a whole.
While south Belfast continues to be one of the most desirable addresses in the North, the same cannot be said for properties in north Belfast, which recorded the lowest average price of £82,507 during the second quarter. Latest research has identified “considerable uncertainty and variation” in the housing market, depending on location and type of property.
The survey shows the average property price in the second quarter was £139,633 – slightly up on the first quarter average of £134,560. Overall, however, house prices were down year on year by a weighted rate of decline of 2.4 per cent.
The sharpest fall in property prices has been in semi-detached bungalows, where values fell by more than 28 per cent to £138,390.
Terraced and townhouse prices also dropped by 6.5 per cent to an average of £80,962, while apartment values continued to fall by more than 7 per cent to an average of £108,458. But there is a more positive outlook for homeowners with detached houses, which increased in value by 1.8 per cent to an average of £231,663.
According to the survey, sales remain low. A total of 931 transactions were recorded across a network of estate agents in the three-month period. Alan Bridle, UK economist with Bank of Ireland UK, said prices may not have hit their lowest levels yet.
“I believe the steep market correction since 2007 has yet to fully run its course for Northern Ireland as a whole and I still expect that the average price in the survey will trend 5-10 per cent lower over the next six to 12 months,” he said.
