House prices are on the rise in Lisburn

The latest statistics released by the Ulster University, Bank of Ireland UK and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in the quarterly House Price Survey, show that the average house price in Lisburn now stands at £159,842.

The overall average price is up by 11.4% compared to the final quarter of 2013.

Detached houses are the best performing sector, up by 10% over the year to £235,495. Semi-detached houses are up by 3.3% to £138,637.

Although there was some variation, the rise in prices for Northern Ireland as a whole was reflected in most market areas.

The Belfast market again performed strongly in the last three months of 2014, with an average price in the city of £156,712, up by 14.5% over a year but by a more modest 1.5% over the quarter.

South Belfast remained the most expensive area for housing, with an average sale price of £204,499.

House prices in Lisburn are the third highest in Northern Ireland, behind South Belfast and North Down.

The survey showed the volume of house sales in October, November and December remained strong, with 1,917 transactions recorded from the panel of estate agents across Northern Ireland, comparable to previous quarters in 2014.

The authors of the report, Professor Alastair Adair, Dr John McCord, Professor Stanley McGreal and Dr David McIlhatton of the Ulster University, said: “With a weighted annual increase of 5.7%, the analysis of the last quarter of 2014 confirms the increasingly vibrant housing market. Significant rates of price growth have been sustained throughout the year and transaction volumes are at healthy levels compared to the pre-financial crisis period.”

Alan Bridle, UK Economist at Bank of Ireland UK, said: “The housing market is entering 2015 with some momentum, although there are variations specific to some areas. Despite the narrative of austerity, the steady recovery of the market should be underpinned by higher employment levels, a modest recovery in real incomes, strong competition in the mortgage market and the changes to stamp duty announced in December.”

The Housing Executive’s Head of Research, Joe Frey, said: “The analysis of the data for Quarter 4, 2014 provides further evidence of recovery in Northern Ireland’s housing market, but this recovery has varied very significantly between local housing markets. A more buoyant labour market will be the key factor which will determine the rate of recovery going forward.”