THE north's housing market is continuing to demonstrate stability following a number of years of steady growth, according to Brian Turtle, partner at commercial property agents OKT.
It follows the painful years of price deflation after the 2008 crash where in some areas house prices dropped by as much as 50 per cent and development activity more or less ceased as sites were mothballed.
This decline in activity was also due to a lack of available development land which in some areas was largely as a result of the absence of modern development plans and was greatly curtailed by an absence of funding for construction and domestic mortgage finance.
"In contrast to the conditions of 2008 to 2012, the market for new homes over recent years has strengthened considerably with a much greater level of activity," he said.
"This is due to a number of factors including increased house prices, greater availability of mortgage funding, and the release of land in some areas as a result of new development plans, coupled with improved levels of consumer confidence and increasing levels of employment.
"The Ulster University continues to monitor the housing market in Northern Ireland and the trend over the past three years shows positive growth, which has continued despite the concerns raised by the challenges of Brexit and possible increases in the cost of domestic funding."
Mr Turtle says the market for development land is directly linked to the housing market both in the private and social sectors, and in considering the acquisition of land for development developers must balance construction costs with sales prices.
"Whilst construction costs have undoubtedly witnessed substantial increases, this does not seem to be as yet reflected in land prices, and we believe this denotes quiet confidence in the sector going forward.
"The strong demand for social housing also continues to support land values and especially in greater Belfast this sector competes favourably with the first time buyer market.
"As new development plans are brought forward by the councils it will be interesting to observe what volume of land will be forthcoming for greenfield housing especially in areas where demand undoubtedly outstrips supply, and thereby alleviate some of the pressure on sites within current development limits.
"But no matter what the result of the new plans, it is unlikely that there will be any significantly increased availability of land for the next five years."
Against this backdrop, OKT are bringing a unique block of land to the market in Holywood Co Down comprising almost six acres beside Sullivan Upper School. Zoned as 'white land' in BMAP 2015, it is expected to generate massive levels of interest from developers locally and further afield.
