THE number of houses coming to market in Northern Ireland is on the rise, making sales expectation the highest in the UK, according to surveyors.
The latest Ulster Bank Residential Market Survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) forecast an increase in sales activity over the next three month.
The body has been predicting house prices would rise because of a dearth of supply.
And although Rics is still expecting the cost of homes to grew, surveyors are at their least optimistic on prices since November 2014.
It now believes house prices will rise by around 5 per cent in the north this year.
According to the most recent official statistics, the average house in the north was around £118,000 in the last three months of 2015.
Rics' Northern Ireland residential property spokesman, Samuel Dickey, said: “A lack of supply has been the main constraining factor in the Northern Ireland housing market during recent times.
"This has held back sales activity and kept upward pressure on prices. However, surveyors are reporting perhaps the first signs that these conditions might be easing, with an indication that some more properties are becoming available and price expectations therefore softening slightly. As a result, surveyors expect sales activity to increase.”
Sean Murphy from Ulster Bank said the results of the survey tally with an increase in mortgage lending.
"The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that lending in Northern Ireland for house purchase and remortgage increased in the fourth quarter 2015. At Ulster Bank, we have seen a continuing increase in mortgage activity into the beginning of 2015 and we expect it to increase further as we move into the traditionally busy period for the housing market.
"Ulster Bank is committed to helping people take steps into home-ownership, to move home, and to remortgage. Our participation in the Help to Buy ISA scheme and our wide range of other mortgage products are a strong sign of that commitment.”
Commenting on the UK-wide picture, Rics chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said the market had seen a surge in buy-to-let activity ahead of an increase in stamp duty.
"Since the chancellor made his autumn statement announcement last November, investors have rushed to purchase homes before the stamp duty surcharge comes into effect. It is inevitable that over the coming months, April’s stamp duty changes will take a little of the heat out of the investor market.
"While there remain significant doubts as to whether the government’s plans to encourage a more robust development and construction pipeline will be sufficient to address the housing crisis, long-term price indications for the housing market remain strong, with respondents still expecting them to rise by a further 25 per cent over the next five years.”
