Housing market conditions remain relatively positive in Northern Ireland despite evidence of price growth easing, according to the February RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and Ulster Bank Northern Ireland Residential Market Survey.
A net balance of +39 percent of respondents in Northern Ireland said that the number of newly agreed sales rose last month, the second month in succession that the survey has reported an increase.
The indicators for new buyer enquiries and instructions to sell also remained in positive territory for the second month running, but at lower rates (+21 percent and +8 percent respectively).
With regard to prices, a net balance of +21 percent of respondents to the survey said that house prices rose, compared to +55 percent in the January survey.
Despite this, surveyors’ expectations for prices and sales remain strong. A net balance of +34 percent of respondents expects prices to rise in the next three months, whilst a net balance of +42 percent expects sales activity to rise in the same timeframe – both only marginally below levels in the January survey.
However, concerns have been raised by property professionals about the potential impact of coronavirus, which although yet unknown, could adversely affect viewings and the traditional spring house selling season across the UK.
Samuel Dickey, RICS Residential Property Spokesman in Northern Ireland, said: “The past couple of months have seen a clear improvement in sentiment in the Northern Ireland housing market, leading to more listings, more viewings and more sales. Surveyors remain positive about the outlook as well; however it remains to be seen how the Coronavirus situation develops and what impact that has on viewings and activity in the short-term. Surveyors’ long-term expectations for prices and sales activity remain strong.”
Terry Robb, Head of Personal Banking at Ulster Bank, said: “We are active in the mortgage market at present supporting a wide range of borrowers including homebuyers, builders, movers, and remortgagers to understand their mortgage options. We will also monitor the potential impact of coronavirus on mortgage customers and have a range of standard forbearance options potentially available to assist any customers in financial difficulty.”
The main findings of the survey were (all figures are net balances):
* The net balance of respondents reporting a rise in house prices over the last 3 months was +25% (down from +55% in the January survey)
* The net balance for price expectations in the next three months is +34% and the net balance for sales expectations is +42%.
* New buyer enquiries rose in February according to a net balance of +21% of respondents
* New instructions to sell rose according to the net balance of +8% of Northern Ireland surveyors responding to the survey
* The net balance for newly agreed sales was +39%, pointing to an ongoing rise in sales activity in February following a rise in January
* Looking 12-months ahead, a net balance of +73 percent of Northern Ireland surveyors expects prices to be higher in a year’s time and a net balance of +75 percent expects the volume of sales to be higher
