Co Londonderry is the only part of Northern Ireland where house prices dropped last year – with homeowners losing an average of £11,000.
owever, while average prices dropped by 6% in the likes of Derry, Strabane and Limavady, counties Fermanagh and Armagh recorded impressive growth — up £45,000 and £29,000 respectively.
The figures are contained in an Ulster University report, which provides a detailed insight into the state of the property market and a guide for anyone thinking of selling or buying a new home.
The report, which compares house prices between the last quarter of 2020 and 2021, has broken down price changes according to rural and urban location.
It suggests properties in the countryside in all counties, except Co Londonderry, have been in demand, with Co Tyrone enjoying the highest price rise of 10.1%.
The rise in prices of urban properties was more modest across all counties, with a loss reported in counties Antrim and Londonderry.
The report has also highlighted cost variations in types of properties depending on the location, which it said was “driven by localised demand and supply fundamentals and changes in properties transacting across their respective price distributions”.
For example, in Co Antrim, there was a 7.34% rise in townhouse and terrace properties — up from £116,311 to £124,852, while Co Armagh only experienced a 0.51% rise — from £92,100 to £92,566.
The largest increase was seen in apartments in Co Fermanagh, with a 4.37% rise between the last quarter in 2020 and the last quarter in 2021.
Looking at Belfast, postcodes which take in Clifton Street, Crumlin Road and York Street saw a significant surge, with the north Belfast average going from £138,751 to £153,065 — representing a rise of 10.32%.
It has surpassed west Belfast where the average property price went from £145,325 to just £147,845 over the 12-month period.
It was also the only part of the city which experienced a drop in price, with the cost of apartments in postcodes taking in Glen Road, Divis, Falls Road and Lagmore Glen in Dunmurry dropping by 0.31%.
All other types of properties across the city experienced increases over the 12-month period.
Homeowners selling a semi-detached property in north Belfast last year would have come away with the biggest profit — with prices up by just over 9% compared to the previous year.
The report has also highlighted how properties only a matter of miles from one another can vary wildly in price.
South Belfast remains the most expensive place for domestic real estate in the city, with the average property going for £274,560 in the last quarter of 2021.
In fact, a family looking to buy a detached house in streets such as Malone Road, Lisburn Road and Stranmillis Road could expect to shell out an average of £408,987 last year.
A similar property in the likes of Woodvale Road, Ardoyne and Skegoneill Avenue was 66% less, making the north the cheapest place to buy a detached property in Belfast.
The cheapest type and location for property in the city in the last quarter of 2021 was a terrace or townhouse in west Belfast, which could be purchased for £108,675.
In comparison, terrace and townhouse properties in south Belfast were fetching an average of £190,172 — representing a difference of more than £80,000 when compared to the west of the city.
Meanwhile, prices of apartments in east Belfast remained fairly steady, with a modest 0.36% increase over the 12-month period. Anyone looking to sell semi-detached or terrace and townhouse properties in east Belfast fared better, with prices rising by 5.79% and 7.26% respectively.
Dr Michael McCord, Reader in Real Estate at Ulster University, said: “The latest price statistics show a market which has remained resilient to the wider political and economic circumstances in what is traditionally a quieter period of the year.
“The analysis does show a softening in price growth in comparison to previous quarters — both in annual and quarterly terms — but one which continues to display strong demand signals, and allied with ongoing supply-side challenges, does not show any signs of correcting in the immediate future.”
The research was produced in partnership with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Progressive Building Society.
Michael Boyd, Deputy Chief Executive & Finance Director at Progressive Building Society, said he is optimistic for a positive outlook for the housing sector this year.
He continued: “There are a number of factors that may influence the success of the market in 2022 including increased inflation, the potential rise in interest rates, levels of employment and sectoral supply issues.”
Ursula McAnulty, Head of Research at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which commissioned the survey, said the latest figures demonstrate that the imbalance between demand and supply is still apparent.
“Strong levels of demand and lack of supply have resulted in continued house price growth over the year — albeit at more subdued levels in quarter four,” she said.
“This has been particularly acute in the detached market segment, with lack of stock having upward pressure on prices. Nonetheless, quarter four data does show a softening in house price growth.”
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