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Average NI house price now £130,482

House prices in Northern Ireland have increased again bringing the average property value up to £130,482
House prices in Northern Ireland have increased again bringing the average property value up to £130,482 House prices in Northern Ireland have increased again bringing the average property value up to £130,482

HOUSE prices in Northern Ireland have increased again, bringing the average property value up to £130,482, according to the latest government figures.

The House Price Index, released by Land & Property Services, assisted by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) shows that prices in the north have increased both over the quarter and the year.

The figures, which cover the last three months of 2017 reveal that prices jumped by 4.3 per cent from the corresponding period in 2016 and increased by 1 per cent on the previous three months.

The House Price Index measures change in the price of residential property sold in Northern Ireland. The index uses stamp duty information on residential property sales recorded by HMRC.

There were a total of 5,501 residential properties sold during the final quarter of last year, with prices now 17.6 per cent higher than the beginning of 2015. A total of eight of the 11 district council areas showed an increase over the quarter, with the Mid Ulster council area showing the largest rise of 5.9 per cent, bringing the average price up to £133,553. Over the year the region saw a 8.1 per cent, just behind the Derry City and Strabane council area, which recorded a 8.8 per cent hike, which brought the average property price at end of 2017 up to £116,690 , the lowest of all district council areas in the north. The Lisburn and Castlereagh council area recorded the highest property value of £152,427, a slight fall on the quarter (-0.7 per cent), but a 2.6 per cent increase from the same period in 2016.

House prices in Belfast fell marginally over the quarter, but grew by 2.8 per cent over the year, with the average price now £122,434, significantly below the Northern Ireland average of £130,482.

In the UK property prices were up 4.8 per cent in 2017.

Richard Snook, senior economist, PwC, said that the latest data shows that house price growth has outpaced average earnings growth for the fifth consecutive year, further ratcheting up the affordability challenge.

"Cumulatively, house prices have increased by 22 per cent more than earnings between 2012 and 2017," he added.