HOUSE prices in north Antrim and north Derry increased by 7.6 per cent in the three months to June, new official analysis of the housing market shows.
The latest house price index from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) found the cost of homes in Causeway Coast and Glens area accelerated by 16.9 per cent in a year to £171,442 on average.
House prices for the north as a whole are now nine per cent higher on last year, with the average home selling for an estimated £153,449.
Prices across the north continued to rise by 2.9 per cent between the first and second quarters of the year.
It followed the busiest month for the Northern Ireland housing market since June 2007. Some 3,900 residential properties were sold here during June, according to HMRC's data, around 1,400 more than in May 2021 and triple the sales of June 2020.
The increase in activity during June has been attributed to a scramble by buyers to complete transactions before the end of the stamp duty holiday.
Pent-up demand and cash piles built up during lockdown, coupled with a limited supply is also contributing to the upward price pressure.
The average prices range from £134,091 in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC) area to £180,067 in Lisburn and Castlereagh.
Nisra’s regional breakdown has also revealed how prices are accelerating much faster in some areas.
While the north coast saw the most dramatic price pressure, both Ards and North Down (12 per cent) and Newry, Mourne and Down (11.3 per cent) recorded above average rises over the year.
Prices in Fermanagh and Omagh (8.8 per cent) and Mid Ulster (8.4 per cent) were also well up over the year.
The price of the average Belfast home is 7.2 per cent up over the year to £145,337, making it the sixth most expensive council area to buy in.
More recently, the ABC area and Mid and East Antrim were saw much sharper price hikes into the second quarter, rising by 4.4 and 4.3 per cent over the three months.
According to Nisra’s report, considered the ‘definitive house price index’, the average detached home in the north is now selling for 12 per cent more than a year ago.
The cost of an average new build rose 4.9 per cent over the past 12 months, compared to existing properties, which saw a 9.9 per cent rise in prices.
But new builds remain much more expense, averaging at £180,154 compared to £146,660 for a resold home.
