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Surveyors forecast months of house price increases

House prices are set to increase over the next quarter, Rics have said
House prices are set to increase over the next quarter, Rics have said House prices are set to increase over the next quarter, Rics have said

HOUSE prices are expected to increase in the final quarter of the year as too few homes come onto market, chartered surveyors have said.

The latest residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) and Ulster Bank said the cost of buying a new home rose in the three months to September - and will keep going up.

Rics said it expects prices to have risen by 11 per cent on average over the course of 2015.

The most recent official figures contained in the Northern Ireland Residential Property Price Index put the cost of a typical house in the north at £113,245 in the three months to June.

Those asked also said an upturn in the number of transactions is also anticipated.

However, the rate at which new properties are coming onto the market is not keeping pace with new buyer enquiries, the report said.

Rics Northern Ireland residential property spokesman Samuel Dickey said this "presents a challenge for the market".

“Activity appears to have been picking up marginally, and surveyors expect a further increase. Indeed, buyer demand is strengthening. However, the ongoing lack of new instructions continues to be an issue, which will likely limit activity and push prices higher," he said.

Derek Wilson, head of lending products at Ulster Bank said: “Mortgage lending in Northern Ireland picked up in the second quarter of the year according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, and our experience at Ulster Bank is that the third quarter saw a further increase in activity.

"The levels of mortgage demand that we are currently experiencing also points to a strong few months ahead. As a bank, we offer choice to customers and to support them in getting a mortgage they can live with. That’s why we have launched our biggest-ever range of mortgage options, with some of our lowest-ever rates.”