A SHARP rise in the value of new builds has helped drive Northern Ireland house prices up by 4.4 per cent over the past year.
The latest Northern Ireland Residential Property Index shows that the cost of the average house has increased by 3.1 per cent from the start of the year to June and 4.4 per cent over the year, with the average cost of a home now £128,650.
Chief economist at Ulster Bank Richard Ramsey said the quarterly data reveals a "two-speed market", with the average price of new build homes rising significantly faster than that of existing or resold housing stock.
"New build prices are up by 25 per cent in the past two years, compared to 10 per cent for existing or resold properties. This means that new build prices are at an eight-year high."
"Meanwhile the average price of existing or resold stock is still 45 per cent below its peak," he said.
The house prices index, based on property sales, is now 16 per cent higher than at the beginning of 2015, while all district council areas showed an increase over the quarter.
The Lisburn and Castlereagh council area is the most expensive place to buy at £154,704 and Derry City and Strabane the cheapest at £109,939.
Belfast saw the slowest rate of growth of all Northern Ireland regions over the year of just one per cent.
A total of 5,106 residential properties were sold during the second quarter of the year, with that figure expected to rise next quarter due to late returns.
