HOUSE prices in Northern Ireland continued to rise in the first quarter of 2022, a new survey suggests.
The latest monthly residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Ulster Bank found prices continuing to increase in the face of constraints on available housing stock.
The official government measure of house prices last month showed the average house price in the north rose by 7.9 per cent during 2021 to £159,151.
While the index showed a slowing in price growth towards the end of last year, the RICS snapshot poll among property professionals revealed strong indicators of prices rising further in the first three months of 2022.
Although fewer respondents expect that pace to continue over the next three months.
Highlighting the ongoing supply problems in the housing market, the survey showed new instruction to sell were flat for the month of March.
The Northern Ireland spokesperson for RICS, Samuel Dickey, said: “The first quarter of the year saw the continuation of a story that has been evident in the NI housing market for some time – prices rising as a result of demand for homes being strong and supply not meeting that demand.
“The lack of stock has been apparent for many months and as such we’re seeing this drive prices up across all categories, with expectations this will continue in the next three months,” he said.
“Consumers are facing rising prices, and rising interest rates have begun to push up the cost of mortgage finance.
“But debt servicing remains low in a historic context which helps to explain why the new buyer enquiries indicator remains in positive territory.”
