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Upbeat sentiment in NI housing market starts after positive 2024
18th February 2025
The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey found the market began 2025 on a relatively strong note.
A net balance of 76 per cent of NI surveyors reported a rise in house prices through January, which is well above the UK average of 22 per cent as NI continues to outperform all other UK regions when it comes to pricing.
Respondents in NI also remain positive on the outlook, with a net balance of 70 per cent expecting prices to edge upwards over the next three months - the strongest balance for price expectations since April 2021.
Newly agreed sales also continued to increase in number, according to the report, with respondents indicating that the upcoming stamp duty changes could be a factor. A net balance of 17 per cent of NI respondents reported a rise in agreed sales through January.
Surveyors remain positive on sales expectations looking forward, with a net balance of 57 per cent anticipating sales to rise over the next three months.
There was also an increase in housing coming to the market in January. A net balance of 7 per cent of NI respondents reported that instructions to sell rose through the first month of 2025, up from 1 per cent in December and 5 per cent in November 2024.
Samuel Dickey, RICS Northern Ireland Residential Property spokesperson, said: "With 2024 being a largely positive year for NI’s housing market, it’s encouraging to see surveyors remaining upbeat through the early stages of the new year, and the recent interest rate cut may boost confidence.
"We are though continuing to see that there is insufficient supply to meet demand. A key reason behind this is the longstanding issue of a lack of wastewater infrastructure, as well as planning delays. With changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax coming in April, we expect to see an increase in market activity in the coming months as buyers and sellers look to complete sales before the revisions take effect."
Commenting on the UK picture, RICS head of market analytics, Tarrant Parsons, added: "The latest survey feedback indicates that growth in buyer demand lost a bit of momentum through the early part of the year, with this flatter picture likely linked to the turbulence seen across money markets in the first half of January.
"Nevertheless, moving forward, respondents continue to envisage a slightly positive near-term outlook for sales activity. This should be further supported by the unwinding of some of the pressures around mortgage interest rates over the past couple of weeks."