The leading property portal, PropertyPal, has released their quarterly report highlighting insights and trends that have shaped the Northern Ireland Housing Market in Q2 2024. It includes a comprehensive overview of property sales, rentals and new homes during the last three months.
The full report can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/3LsqDL9
Key highlights from the report include:
- The average property price is £206,600 (excluding New Homes), reflecting a 3.0% annual increase and a 0.9% quarterly increase.
- The average rent is £871 per month, marking a 10.0% annual increase and a 2.4% quarterly increase.
- The average New Home property price is £240,300, with a 2.7% annual increase and a 1.9% quarterly increase.
- The Derry City & Strabane area has seen the largest annual increase in house prices at 6.7%, with the average property price now £171,300.
- The Mid & East Antrim area has seen the largest annual increase in rent at 16.1%, with the average rent now £742p/m.
- The average days on market for a house to reach ‘sale agreed’ is 42 days, compared to 43 days in Q2 2023.
- There were 6,343 properties agreed for sale in Q2 2024, with sales volumes down 4.0% compared to Q2 2023.
- Over the past 3 months, there have been an average of 66 enquiries per advertised rental on PropertyPal.
Jordan Buchanan, Chief Executive Officer at PropertyPal commented on the housing market:
The Northern Ireland housing market demonstrated stability in the second quarter of the year. Overall prices have stabilised at an annual growth rate of 3.0%, with supply of new listings increasing by 1.0%.
While sales volumes have decreased by 4.0%, the typical time to find a buyer is approximately one week faster than the long-term average, indicating strong underlying buyer demand.
High mortgage rates and the uncertainty surrounding the UK general election somewhat restrained market activity. However, with UK inflation now back to the Bank of England’s target, it appears more a question of when, rather than if, interest rates will fall. Market traders are currently divided on the likelihood of the first rate cut occurring next month.
Jordan Buchanan, also commented on the rental market:
Rents in Northern Ireland continue to experience double-digit annual growth, with the average rent now over £870 per month in Q2 2024. Over the past three months, there have been an average of 66 enquiries per advertised rental on PropertyPal. The greatest pressures are in the Mid & East Antrim and Ards & North Down areas, closely followed by Belfast.
While there has been some softening in the overall supply-demand imbalance, the disparity remains significant. A considerable influx of new rental properties is required to bring typical rent growth closer to the pre-COVID-19 average of 3.0%
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