NI Property Market recovery expected to continue in 2015
In an article in the Belfast Telegraph on Tuesday 30th December 2014 the Ulster Bank’s chief economist, Richard Ramsey, predicts that the Northern Ireland property market should continue to recover from the steepest house price correction in UK history.
In 2014 Northern Ireland experienced its first full years growth in house price rises in seven years. Mr Ramsey expects that trend to continue with a 6% rise in 2015. Residential property transactions should also continue to rise. 2015 should be the fourth year of double digit growth in transactions. In 2014 transaction rose by 27% and this should ease to 15% in 2015 bringing the annual number of transactions to 23,750. This improvement should be helped by the recent changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax regime with the greatest benefit being experienced in the £125,000 to £150,000 purchase price bracket.
Hopefully all of the above will lead to increases in new house building which will be extremely helpful to the greater NI economy.