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From Times Online

July 10, 2007

Homes in parts of Northern Ireland as expensive as London

Lucia Adams

View the hotspots and a region-by-region breakdown of property prices

House prices in parts of Northern Ireland have spiralled to such an extent that they are now on a par with London, according to a report out today.

In Belfast, average property prices rose to £300,229 in the last quarter. The overall average in London is £292,409, according to the Nationwide's quarterly survey.

UK house prices are still rising, albeit at a slower pace than in the first quarter of the year. However, the report has revealed stark regional differences in house price growth in the past three months.

The highest rise in property values during April to June was in Northern Ireland and London, with annual price growth reaching 54 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively.

In contrast, the North West and West Midlands saw the weakest annual change in house prices, of 5.8 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively. House price growth in was also weaker in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside and the North.

The North-South gap that began opening up last year in England remained significant in the second quarter of this year, the report said. House price growth in the South outpaced the North by 5.6 percentage points.

London recorded the fastest pace of price growth. Annual growth in London accelerated from 14.3 per cent to 15.7 per cent compared to the first quarter of the year and outpaced the average for England as a whole by 6.1 percentage points. Average house price for first-time buyers in London is now approaching £250,000

The regions surrounding the capital all showed double-digit price growth.

Nationwide's chief economist, Fionnuala Earley, said that although five out of 13 regions recorded double-digit growth, the pace of growth had slowed from the all-time record high of the first quarter of this year: “At a national level, the annual rate of house price growth increased slightly from the first quarter, rising from 9.5 per cent to 10.2 per cent. This masked a slowing of the quarterly pace of growth for the second quarter in a row, from 2.3 per cent to 2.1 per cent. In fact, the acceleration of annual house price inflation was in part driven by an interim period of relative weakness in the second quarter of 2006. Even London and Northern Ireland – the two most buoyant regional markets – saw the quarterly pace of house price inflation slow."

UK fact file:

Average house price: £181,810

Annual percentage increase: 10.2 per cent

Quarterly change (seasonally adjusted): 2.1 per cent

Most expensive region: London

Least expensive region: North

Region with strongest price growth: Northern Ireland

Region with weakest price growth: North West

View the hotspots and a regoin-by-region breakdown of property prices

Must be all those Russian oligarchs flooding into the place.

Percy, London ,

Lucia,
It must be all these immigrants into Northern Ireland, and I am sure there must be a high divorce rate and very many students as well. Or is it because planning permissions are more difficult to get in Ulster? Uhhhmmmm!?

Michele, Richmond, UK