Average house price in Northern Ireland up 4.8% from last year.

The average house price in Northern Ireland has increased by 4.8% to over £221k amid an interest rate cut.

Figures from Ulster University’s House Price Index, produced in partnership with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Progressive Building Society, show an annual rise of 4.8% compared to 2024.

In September it was reported that 49,588 people were on the Northern Ireland Housing Executive waiting list with 38,366 households in ‘housing stress’.

Research from Halifax shows that the age profile for first-time buyers in Northern Ireland has also increased from 30 to 32 and make up 54% of their home purchases made with a mortgage in 2024.

“It’s scary because currently how I feel is that I’ll never be able to get a house,” said a Coleraine student.

“The continued rise in house prices will make it increasingly difficult for many young people across the Causeway Coast and Glens to take their first step onto the property ladder,” said Ulster Unionist Party Councillor Sandra Hunter.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the number of 25 to 34-year-olds still living with their parents has increased by more than a third in almost two decades.

“While rising value can benefit existing homeowners, for young people that often means higher deposits, greater reliance on private renting, and the risk of being priced out of their own local communities altogether.”

Further research from Halifax shows that only 38% started on the property ladder on their own, and nearly two-thirds of mortgage completions in 2024 were in two or more names, with the Causeway Coast and Glens council area having a 6.9% first-time buyer rate for mortgage sales per 1,000 dwellings as of 2024 according to the Office of National Statistics.

Hunter added: “This trend underlines the urgent need for more genuinely affordable housing, better support for first-time buyers, and policies that allow young people to live and work where they grew up rather than being forced to move away. Addressing housing affordability must remain priority if we want to retain young talent and sustain our local economy”.