Upward momentum in the Northern Ireland property market has waned slightly as buyer interest slows, but prices are still heading higher.
That is the message from online portal PropertyPal’s latest report which showed the average price of a house in the province climbed by 5.2% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, and just 2.4% compared to the first quarter.
It put the average price of a property at £187,900, ranging from £220,700 in Ards & North Down to £153,800 in Fermanagh & Omagh.
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Search traffic on the website, a key indicator of buyer interest, was 4% lower than the second quarter of 2021.
The data hints at the fact soaring prices for a range of consumer goods and services have eaten into disposable income and may have deterred some people from buying properties.
Indeed, the number of agreed sales has fallen by more than 20% on the year, although they are little changed from before the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the tight supply picture, which is said to have driven prices higher in recent months, continues to underpin the market.
It has tightened further in the second month with total inventory on the PropertyPal website falling by 9% in the second quarter 2022 compared to the same period last year.
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In addition, buyer appetite shows little sign of waning with the average time a house is on the website before being agreed standing at 35 days, a fall from 37 days last year.
Meanwhile, the sharp rise in the cost of building materials has meant fewer new houses are being built, sending the price of new home soaring by 17.6% on the year, a trend which shows little sign of easing in the current inflationary environment.
The data also revealed that rents grew by 6.4% over the period and now stand at £724 a month on average.
Highest rents are in Belfast at £819 while the lowest rents are in Fermanagh & Omagh at £536.