There’s good news for the Northern Ireland Housing market with the release of the latest survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, which shows optimism about the market here into next year.
The report, which is produced in partnership with the Ulster Bank, shows that house prices rose in October and that respondents to the survey expect both prices and sales activity to increase in the three months ahead.
There’s also positivity about the prospects for House Prices over the next twelve months, a contrast to the expectations of most other UK regions, but lack of housing stock remains a challenge.
RICS spokesman Samuel Dickey says surveyors continue to see a relatively upbeat picture being painted of the Northern Ireland housing market.
“Surveyors anticipate that this will continue into 2018; albeit that there are some challenges for the market, including limited supply, alongside rising inflation and the fact that interest rates are edging upwards. What is clear though is that Northern Ireland’s housing market continues to display more positive sentiment than the UK average, with most other regions seeing both prices and activity flat or falling.”
Beth Robinson, Senior Partner at Templeton Robinson said the latest figures showed continued confidence in the market, despite the challenges. "As we approach the end of what has been a busy year across the sector, this is positive news for home owners going forward. "Lack of supply in the market is still an issue, however we look forward to a renewed energy for the next 12 months as the buoyancy of Northern Ireland's property market continues for both vendors and purchasers."
• The headline price balance for Northern Ireland was +38% in the latest survey, meaning that 38% more surveyors said that prices rose in the past three months than those who said they fell.
• The price expectations balance, at +31%, remains positive and above all other UK regions. Meanwhile, sales expectations data (+18%) is also the most positive in the UK.
• However, data for newly agreed sales (-5%), new buyer enquiries (+3%) and new instructions (+3%) were all broadly flat.
