Putting a stamp on growing demand..

Moves lead to record number of enquiries

THE extension of the stamp duty holiday and continued strong demand are said to have prompted a record number of new house buyer enquiries in Northern Ireland.

RICS, the body which represents estate agents, said last month saw the highest level of new enquiries in its residential market survey’s 15-year history.

That has prompted a more confident outlook for the short term with around two thirds of those surveyed expecting an increase in the number of transactions in the next three months.

The same upward trajectory has been reported for prices with most agents reporting an increase in March and confidence that the market will continue to head northward between now and April.

Samuel Dickey, RICS Northern Ireland Residential Property Spokesman, said: “The results from the latest survey suggest the decision by the Chancellor to extend the stamp duty break and then taper its expiry has had some impact on demand and activity.

“The survey’s indicators suggest that demand will also remain strong in the months ahead.”

One of the concerns in the market though continues to be limited supply.”

Those were abated slightly by an increase in the number of properties becoming available for sale in March, but the survey said respondents were reporting anecdotal evidence that supply is not keeping up with demand.

The report from RICS chimes with the latest government data from the Northern Ireland Research and Statistics Agency which reported the busiest quarter for the residential housing market in the last three months of 2020 since the property boom in 2007.