The average property sold for £138,500, a fall of 9% decrease, the latest Northern Ireland Housing Bulletin report from the Department for Social Development shows.
It confirms that the region is faring worse than the rest of the UK residential property market. Building starts also fell dramatically during the first three months of this year compared to 2011.
During the first quarter of the year the average selling price of National House Building Council new homes was down £13,700 with the average selling price ranged from £102,400 in Fermanagh to £190,700 in Belfast.
The average estimated intended selling price of new private detached houses was 19% lower than the quarter ending in March 2011.
Residential property prices fell by 7% compared to the last quarter of 2011, and the number of new home starts recorded this year represented a 28% decrease on the number during the same period last year.
‘New build houses have been affected by the market changes, but to a lesser extent than resales because resales reflect older houses and they also reflect repossessions,’ said Tom McClelland, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Northern Ireland spokesman, adding that prices for repossessed houses were similar to those in 2002/03.
‘First time buyers in jobs just love new houses and if you are buying repossessions at floor levels, something like £35,000 to $40,000, then you are probably looking at £15,000 to £20,000 worth of work as well, ‘explained.
