According to the latest RICS and Ulster Bank Housing Market Survey for Northern Ireland, a net balance of 31% of respondents said that they expect transaction volumes to increase in the June, July, August period, and all respondents indicated that they expect prices to remain the same in the three months.
The price balance for the survey was -9, suggesting that prices edged lower over March, April, and May. Some 57% of respondents said that prices remained the same over saying they rose, and 26% said that they fell.
The net balance for transaction volumes was 46%. Some 54% of respondents said that the amount of transactions remained the same in the three months and 46% said that there was an increase.
‘The trend has been one of easing price falls and modestly rising transaction volumes, and we expect this to continue over the year as a whole,’ said RICS Northern Ireland housing spokesman, Tom McClelland.
‘The stabilisation in prices has being encouraging greater activity, albeit we are still some way off what would be considered healthy transaction volumes,’ he added.
Derek Wilson, head of lending products at Ulster Bank said it is committed to supporting home buyers, movers and remortgagers. ‘Ulster Bank has provided over £1.5 billion of mortgage lending into the Northern Ireland housing market since the property price peak. As the market continues to stabilise and activity rises, we remain strongly committed and we are introducing more choice for customers in our mortgage offerings to help consumers get the best deal for their individual circumstances,’ he added.
