Business

House prices in Northern Ireland fall for a second quarter running says index

House prices in Northern Ireland have fallen for the second consecutive quarter, according to the latest Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) from Land & Property Services
House prices in Northern Ireland have fallen for the second consecutive quarter, according to the latest Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) from Land & Property Services
By Gary McDonald Business Editor

HOUSE prices in Northern Ireland have fallen for a second quarter running - and at four times the rate of the previous three months.

The region's latest Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) show that prices fell by 1.8 per cent between January and the end of March.

That compares to a more modest decline of just 0.4 per in the final three months of 2022.

But it is the largest quarterly decline in a decade, though prices are still 5 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2022.

The index puts the average price of a house in the north at £172,000, although there there large regional variations.

In the Lisburn and Castlereagh area, for instance, the average price is £204,122, while on the opposite end of the scale the average property costs £148,548 in Derry City and Strabane.

The biggest regional quarterly drop was in Ards and North Down (down 4.8 per cent). Only Causeway Coast & Glens saw a price increase, up by 0.7 per cent.

The figures come from Land & Property Services, assisted by the NI Statistics & Research Agency, and the index uses stamp duty information on residential property sales recorded by HMRC.

Last week the latest Northern Ireland Quarterly House Price Index from Ulster University showed a cooling of the housing market over the course of 2022.

It suggested that the slowing economy, allied with the continued cost-of-living pressures, is starting to impact on consumer behaviour, including repayment, accessibility affordability and ultimately house price sensitivity.

Prices in each of the north's council areas and the quarterly changes in the latest RPPI are:

  • Antrim & Newtownabbey - £177,272 (down 1.3 per cent)
  • Ards & North Down - £191,690 (down 4.8 per cent)
  • Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon - £154,738 (down 0.5 per cent)
  • Belfast - £158,219 (down 1.6 per cent)
  • Causeway Coast & Glens - £196,021 (up 0.7 per cent)
  • Derry City & Strabane - £148,548 (down 3.4 per cent
  • Fermanagh & Omagh - £158,172 (down 2.7 per cent)
  • Lisburn & Castlereagh - £204,122 (down 1.8 per cent)
  • Mid & East Antrim - £159,984 (down 0.4 per cent)
  • Mid Ulster - £163,498 (down 2.7 per cent)
  • Newry, Mourne & Down - £183,203 (down 1.3 per cent)