Surveyors in Northern Ireland remain positive about the outlook for the housing market according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Ulster Bank Residential Market Survey, as both prices and sales are expected to edge upwards.
Over the last three months, surveyors report that prices have risen. A net balance of 80% of respondents to the survey noted a rise, which is well above the UK average (a net balance of 11%).
And surveyors in NI expect prices to continue rising through the final quarter of the year with a net balance of 60% anticipating a rise, up from 45% that was seen in August.
Surveyors also remain optimistic on the sales front, with a net balance of 29% of NI respondents anticipating a rise in sales through Q4. Although this figure remains in positive territory, it is less so than was seen in August which saw a net balance of 48%.
Demand was reported to have risen through the month of September. A net balance of 39% of surveyors noted a rise in new buyer enquiries, compared to 52% in August, and 37% in July.
NI surveyors also report that supply rose last month, however at a slower rate than was reported in the survey previous. A net balance of 28% of respondents reported a rise in new instructions to sell, down from 51% in August.
Respondents in NI report that sales rose through the end of Q3, which is expected with both demand and supply rising. A net balance of 52% of surveyors reported that newly agreed sales had risen in September.
Samuel Dickey, RICS Northern Ireland Residential Property Spokesman, comments: “Overall, the third quarter of the year was steady for Northern Ireland’s residential market. We’ve seen good levels of demand, and anecdotally surveyors in NI are seeing increased enquiries from new buyers and families returning from other parts of the UK. However, the one big challenge that remains for the housing market is supply. We just don’t have enough to meet the demand across both private and public housing.”
Terry Robb, Head of Personal Banking at Ulster Bank says: “As is typical for this time of year, we are seeing a good demand for mortgages and mortgage related enquires across the region. This is likely bolstered even more so by the lower interest rates we are currently experiencing which is driving interest even further. Though this is being tempered slightly by the lack of supply – something the survey has been reporting on.
“We know there is a particular demand for social housing, so it was welcome news that our parent, the NatWest Group, has pledged over £3bn to support social housing, with a proportion of this earmarked for supporting projects in Northern Ireland. Hopefully this will go some way to alleviating the pressures on demand for social housing and supports the local housing market more broadly.”
Commenting on the UK picture, RICS Head of Market Analytics, Tarrant Parsons, said: “The latest survey results once again convey a brighter picture for housing market activity, with the recent easing in mortgage interest rates continuing to support a recovery in buyer demand.
“Critical for the outlook, a further unwinding in monetary policy is anticipated over the months ahead, which should create a more favourable backdrop for the market moving forward. In keeping with this idea, forward-looking sentiment data from the survey points to sales volumes gaining impetus, both in the near-term and over the next twelve months.”
