New buyer demand and sales in the Northern Ireland housing market have picked up over the last month, a new survey has revealed.

According to the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and Ulster Bank Residential Market Survey, a net balance of 52% of Northern Ireland respondents saw newly agreed sales rise in the month of March. This is compared to the UK average of -31%. Although sales activity appeared strong last month, surveyors are not as optimistic looking forward, with a flat picture expected over the next three months.

Looking at pricing, there was a modest improvement in the price balance, with NI respondents continuing to see prices edging upwards. A net balance of +33% was recorded for prices in the latest report, up from +28% in February, and 19% in the January report.

Looking at supply and demand, a net balance of 10% of surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries whilst respondents indicate that new instructions fell flat through the month of March, similar to the results from the February survey.

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In terms of the outlook, respondents in Northern Ireland are more positive about the 12-month outlook compared to UK counterparts. NI, Scotland and Wales are the only UK regions expecting prices to be higher in a year's time. NI respondents also expect sales to be higher.

Samuel Dickey, RICS Northern Ireland Residential Property Spokesman, says: "The housing market in Northern Ireland appeared to be relatively stronger in the month of March when compared to previous recent months, with both sales and prices rising. However, surveyors seem to still be cautious looking forward over the next number of months. That being said, we are seeing sales expectations pointing to a more stable trend emerging further out. Comparatively, NI respondents overall remain more confident about prices and activity over the course of the next year than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK."

Terry Robb, Head of Personal Banking at Ulster Bank, added: "Ulster Bank's recently announced brand refresh will visually associate us more closely with our parent bank NatWest Group, one of the largest banks in the UK, and its marketing and initiatives, and this is a real positive for Ulster Bank and Northern Ireland. We have already been able to offer NatWest's mortgage product offering to customers in Northern Ireland, which has supported a wide range of local homebuyers and remortgagers. The Northern Ireland market is extremely important to us, and Ulster Bank continues to engage with all kinds of borrowers through our range of channels and our local team, and continues to offer a broad range of mortgage products to meet the needs of local customers."