The average price of a home in the north increased by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2024, official figures confirm.
After a slight fall in the average at the end of last year, the Northern Ireland House Price Index said prices climbed again in the first three months of this year, averaging at £178,499.
Prices in the first quarter were still below the recent peak of £179,348 from the third quarter of last year.
But Ulster Bank’s chief economist Richard Ramsey said the annual rate of price rises had accelerated from 1.5% to 4%.
The return to price growth followed one of the worst years on record for house building in the north.
Just 5,379 new dwellings were completed in Northern Ireland during 2023, the lowest since 1959.
Mr Ramsey said the number of new dwellings completed in the first quarter of 2024 was 3.3% up year-on-year, but it was still well below recent standards.
There were some signs of improvement, with new house starts up 15.9% year-on-year.
The latest housing market data, compiled by Land & Property Services (LPS) and the north’s official statistics body Nisra, is based on sales recorded by HMRC during the first three months of the year.
The official index shows the average price ranged from £158,038 in Derry City and Strabane to £210,592 in Lisburn and Castlereagh.
The report tracked 4,533 residential property transactions in the first quarter, but that number is expected to be revised upwards.
The biggest quarterly change in prices was recorded in Causeway Coast and Glens, where the average home sold for £186,677 in Q1 2024, which was 5.1% below the Q4 2023 price.
Prices on the north coast were down by 4% year-on-year.
Quarterly price falls were also recorded in Mid and East Antrim, where the average dipped 2.4% to £162,656.
Newry, Mourne and Down (-1.4%) and Derry City and Strabane (-0.3%) were the only other districts to see prices fall at the start of the year.
Ards and North Down (+3.3%) recorded the most significantly quarterly increase, with prices now up 8.6% year-on-year to £208,114.
Prices in Lisburn and Castlereagh also rose by 2.3% over the quarter, leaving the average 3.7% up over the year at £210,592.
