House prices in Northern Ireland continue to tumble, with properties falling more than 10 per cent in value in the last year, according to the latest snapshot of the market.
The average price in the region now stands at £137,219, the University of Ulster’s quarterly review found.
The 10.7 per cent annual decline was accompanied by signs of more activity in the market.
The survey of 115 estate agents recorded 960 transactions in the last quarter of 2011, compared with 684 over the same three-month period in 2010.
Only one type of residential property - semi-detached bungalows – recorded an increase in price, up by 6.7 per cent.
All other market sectors saw reduced average prices with apartments seeing the greatest decline of 23.8 per cent; detached bungalows fell by 16.4 per cent; detached houses dropped by 15.3 per cent; terraced/townhouses fell by 3.4 per cent; and semi-detached houses decreased by 2.6 per cent.
In regard to regional variations, the highest average price was in south Belfast at £224,301 and the lowest in the north of the city at £76,927.
The university's Quarterly House Price Index was produced in partnership with Bank of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
Professor Alastair Adair, who wrote the report along with Professor Stanley McGreal and Dr David McIlhatton, said: “The Northern Ireland housing market has closed the year in much the same way as it started.
“Although the market is showing some tentative signs of stabilisation, it is still rather thin in terms of transaction levels with average prices tending to be lower rather than higher.
“This survey shows that recovery in the Northern Ireland housing market is still not deeply embedded and remains vulnerable to economic circumstances and to the seasonal vagaries of the market which become more apparent during periods of thin market conditions.”
Alan Bridle, UK Economist at Bank of Ireland UK, said: “This year offers more of the same pattern as many households continue to face economic and financial headwinds that will inevitably constrain demand for house purchase and house finance. The prospects for higher activity levels look brighter for spring and summer, in line with seasonal trends.”
The Housing Executive’s Head of Research, Joe Frey, said the private rented sector was continuing to expand and play an ever bigger role in meeting the accommodation needs of a growing number of potential first-time buyers and households on low incomes.
PA
