NI House Price Index - House prices increased by 4%.

Prices continue to rise at a firmer rate than anywhere in the UK.

The forecast for the next year remains positive with surveyors expecting prices to be higher in 12 months time.

The overall index showed an increase of 2.3% between the second and third quarter of 2019. Between Q3 2018 and Q3 2019 the House Price Index increased by 4.0%. The NI HPI currently stands at 126.1 in the third quarter of 2019. The index is now 26.1% higher than in the first quarter of 2015, and 25.0% higher than Q1 2005.

RICS Residential Property Spokesman and Partner here at Simon Brien Residential comments on the results: "New homes and first-time buyers continue to be strong contributing factors to the resilience of the Northern Ireland housing market as a whole. The imbalance between supply and demand also continues to be the main driver of price growth.”

“As we approach winter and the Christmas period, it is expected that resales activity will ease back, but I believe there is still significant latent demand in the market that could be realised in the new year. Overall, it is encouraging to see that there continues to be resilience in the market, despite all of the external challenges and noise, and it is noteworthy that Northern Ireland surveyors are more positive about the year ahead than elsewhere in the UK."