ANNUAL house price growth in Northern Ireland is running at 5 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
That's higher than any other UK region (England grew by 3.7 per cent and Wales and Scotland each by 2 per cent).
The ONS said the average house price in Northern Ireland over the 12 months to the end of April is £172,000.
In the UK as a whole, the average house price in April, at £286,000, was £7,000 below a recent peak in September 2022.
UK house prices increased by 3.5 per cent on average - just a fraction of the 14.2 per cent recorded last summer.
The ONS said that volatility in the figures for 2021 and 2022 reflects house price movements around changes in stamp duty in 2021.
The annual increase in property values also slowed in April this year compared with March 2023, when a 4.1 per cent rise was recorded.
The average UK house price in April 2023 was £9,000 higher than 12 months earlier.
The figures were released on the same day the ONS said that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation remained at 8.7 per cent in May, the same level as in April, fuelling expectations of another Bank of England base rate hike on Thursday, which would push up costs for some mortgage borrowers.
A separate ONS report released on Wednesday showed that private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 5 per cent in the 12 months to May 2023, up from 4.8 per cent in the 12 months to April 2023 - the largest annual percentage change since the ONS UK records started in January 2016.
ONS head of housing market indices Aimee North said: "Annual house price inflation slowed again in April across most UK nations and regions. The north east of England showed the highest annual growth, while London remains the slowest-growing English region.
"UK rental prices continue to climb reaching another record high in May, with the West Midlands showing the highest annual percentage change in England. London's rental growth also continued to surge seeing its highest annual rate in over a decade."
