HOUSE prices in Northern Ireland rose by 4.9 per cent in the year ending in June, according to the Office for National Statistics. It put the average cost of buying a home in the north at £137,000.
The average increase in prices across the UK over the past year was 10.2 per cent, with those in London experiencing a 19 per cent hike. Despite the rise, house prices in the north are still some way off their 2007 peak, sitting at around 47 per cent below that height. In Wales, house prices are around 3 per cent below their previous peak levels. Values in Scotland are the closest to touching their previous peak, now standing at 1.6 per cent below their previous high in 2008. Ireland Residential Property Price Index is to be published today.