Local house prices rise by almost five per cent

LOCAL house prices have increased by almost five per cent over the past year, figures show.

According to the Quarterly House Price Index, house prices in Fermanagh and Omagh rose by 4.6 per cent since last year, with the average price of a house locally now sitting at £160,473.

Every council area in Northern Ireland has recorded a rise in house prices over the last year, rising on average 2.7 per cent across the board.

In nearby Derry City and Strabane, house prices over the past year rose by 6.7 per cent, and in this quarter alone at rise of 8.4 per cent was recorded. The standardised price in this area now sits at £160,175.

In Mid Ulster, an annual change of 3.3 per cent has been recorded, with the standardised price in this council area £167,396.

According to the report, the average price for a house in Northern Ireland is £173,898 and ranges from £152,388 in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon to £203,161 in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

In the second quarter of this year (April 2023 to June 2023), a total of 4,776 residential properties were sold.

Of these sales, 1,309 (27 per cent) were detached, 1,473 were semi-detached (31 per cent), 1,544 were terrace (32 per cent), and 450 were appartments (nine per cent).

Variation in price changes was driven by local tastes and the nature and availability of houses coming on the market, the author's report claimed.

The House Price Index is now 56.8 per cent higher than Q1 2015, pointing to a continued rise in the value of property in Northern Ireland.