More houses on market set to boost spring property sales

More available properties and an increasing number of buyers will spur a rise in house sales activity over the next three months, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Mar 2016, 06:00 BST
More new properties going on the market will help to ease the logjam that has hampered buyersMore new properties going on the market will help to ease the logjam that has hampered buyers
More new properties going on the market will help to ease the logjam that has hampered buyers

Publishing the latest Residential Market Survey in conjunction with the Ulster Bank the body reports that new insructions to sell have risen by 30% and new buyer enquiries by 18%. As a result, it expects house prices to rise by 5%.

In terms of prices, momentum remained strong (+50 percent) in February, however expectations for prices, whilst still positive, are now lower than at any time since November 2014. Over the course of 2016, RICS expects Northern Ireland

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“A lack of supply has been the main constraining factor in the Northern Ireland housing market during recent times,” said RICS Northern Ireland residential property spokesman Samuel Dickey.

“This has held back sales activity and kept upward pressure on prices. However, surveyors are reporting perhaps the first signs that these conditions might be easing, with an indication that some more properties are becoming available and price expectations therefore softening slightly. As a result, surveyors expect sales activity to increase.”

Sean Murphy, regional managing director, branch and private banking at Ulster Bank, said: “The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that lending in Northern Ireland for house purchase and remortgage increased in the fourth quarter 2015.

“At Ulster Bank, we have seen a continuing increase in mortgage activity into the beginning of 2015 and we expect it to increase further as we move into the traditionally busy period for the housing market.”

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Commenting on the UK-wide picture, RICS chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said: “Over the past three months, we have witnessed a surge in buy-to-let activity.

“Since the Chancellor made his Autumn Statement announcement last November, investors have rushed to purchase homes before the Stamp Duty surcharge comes into effect.”

He said it was inevitable that over the coming months, April’s Stamp Duty changes will take a little of the heat out of the investor market.

“While there remain significant doubts as to whether the Government’s plans to encourage a more robust development and construction pipeline will be sufficient to address the housing crisis, long-term price indications for the housing market remain strong, with respondents still expecting them to rise by a further 25 per cent over the next five years.”

Related topics:Ulster BankNorthern Ireland