HOUSE price growth in Belfast is slower than any other major UK city, according to a report.
Average house prices were around £121,200 over the first quarter of the year - just 0.9 per cent ahead of the previous three months - according to the latest Hometrack index.
That put Belfast bottom of the UK's top 20 cities alongside Newcastle.
In contrast, the cost of a new home in cities such as Liverpool, Cardiff and Southampton increased sharply as a wave of buy-to-let investors sought out properties in places offering decent value.
Hometrack said quarterly city house price growth was at its strongest for 12 years, as the usual seasonal upswing in housing market demand was boosted by investors ahead of changes to stamp duty.
Liverpool and London saw the fastest house price growth over the first quarter of 2016, both recording increases of 4.1 per cent over the three-month period.
Hometrack said a rush of buy-to-let investors trying to beat a 3 per cent stamp duty increase for people buying second homes, which kicked in on April 1, helped to push up prices .
The stamp duty increase applied in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with similar tax increases also taking place in Scotland, where stamp duty has been abolished, to avoid the housing market being distorted there.
Hometrack said investors have been looking towards cities such as Liverpool, where house prices are lower and there is potential for greater rental returns for landlords when compared with the relatively low cost of buying a property.
The average property in Liverpool costs £113,100, compared with an average of £141,900 in nearby Manchester and a typical property price of £235,800 across all the UK's major cities.
After Liverpool and London, Cardiff saw the next strongest three-month house price growth, at 3.5 per cent, while Bristol and Southampton both saw price increases of 3.3 per cent.
Richard Donnell, insight director at Hometrack, said: "The acceleration in growth in the last quarter has, in part, been down to stronger demand from investors, especially those searching for higher-yielding property and seeking to beat the stamp duty deadline.
"With that deadline now passed, the question is how weaker investor demand will impact house price inflation in the second quarter of 2016. Especially at a time when home buyers start to consider the implications of the EU referendum for the economy and mortgage rates."
According to the most recent official figures for Northern Ireland, the value of a typical house rose by 7 per cent last year.
It found the cost of a standard home in Belfast to have risen 8 per cent over the year to £112,930.
TOP 20 CITIES
:: Liverpool, £113,100, 4.1%
:: London, £468,100, 4.1%
:: Bristol, £248,800, 3.3%
:: Southampton, £211,400, 3.3%
:: Cardiff, £191,300, 3.5%
:: Glasgow, £110,400, 2.8%
:: Edinburgh, £198,000, 2.7%
:: Cambridge, £403,500, 2.7%
:: Portsmouth, £212,000, 2.6%
:: Birmingham, £140,300, 2.6%
:: Leeds, £148,800, 2.6%
:: Manchester, £141,900, 2.5%
:: Sheffield, £126,100, 2.0%
:: Nottingham, £134,100, 1.9%
:: Bournemouth, £258,700, 1.4%
:: Aberdeen, £188,000, 1.4%
:: Oxford, £377,600, 1.3%
:: Leicester, £148,000, 1.3%
:: Belfast, £121,200, 0.9%
:: Newcastle, £120,600, 0.9%
