House sales rose in NI in August

The number of house sales rose in August in Northern Ireland, surveyors said.

Pent-up demand and the stamp duty holiday influenced the market, according to the Rics and Ulster Bank NI Residential Market Survey.

Samuel Dickey, Rics Northern Ireland residential property spokesman, said: “The latest survey provides firm evidence of a strong uplift in activity in the NI housing market over recent months which should help support the wider economy.

“Less welcome for many is the pick-up in prices which could intensify issues around affordability, however this is less of an issue in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK.”

Strong growth in agreed sales was cited for a second successive month.

The pandemic is expected to cause a lasting shift in the desirability of certain property characteristics in the UK, the survey showed, as 83% of those who responded anticipating demand increasing for homes with gardens over the next two years.

In total, 79% of estate agents predicted rising demand for properties near green space.

The survey suggested Northern Ireland’s house price growth indicator had hit a five-year high.

The house price growth indicator was the highest in the UK.

The Northern Ireland economy “has entered or is entering recession” according to a separate survey by Ulster Bank.

Output fell for the sixth month in a row.

Northern Ireland reported the sharpest contraction in business activity of any UK region.