Surveyors expect NI prices to remain flat

A net balance of 31% of respondents said that they expect transaction volumes to increase in the June, July, August period and all respondents indicated that they expect prices to remain the same in the three months.

The price balance for the survey was -9, suggesting that prices edged lower over March, April, May (57% of respondents saying that prices remained the same over saying they rose, and 26% saying they fell).

The net balance for transaction volumes was 46% (54% of respondents saying that the amount of transactions remained the same in the three months and 46% saying that there was an increase).

Tom McClelland, RICS Northern Ireland housing spokesman, said: “The trend has been one of easing price falls and modestly rising transaction volumes and we expect this to continue over the year as a whole.

“The stabilisation in prices has been encouraging greater activity albeit we are still some way off what would be considered healthy transaction volumes.”

Derek Wilson, head of lending products at Ulster Bank, added: “Ulster Bank has provided over £1.5bn of mortgage lending into the Northern Ireland housing market since the property price peak.

“As the market continues to stabilise and activity rises, we remain strongly committed to supporting homebuyers, movers and remortgagers and we are introducing more choice for customers in our mortgage offerings to help consumers get the best deal for their individual circumstances.”