There’s been a significant improvement in the balance of the rental market in Northern Ireland according to the area’s most prominent property portal.
PropertyPal’s chief executive Jordan Buchanan says: “The rental market has seen some encouraging shifts in recent months, with supply levels up 16% year-on-year and key demand-side indicators showing signs of softening. While this is a positive step for the long-term sustainability of the sector, the market still remains imbalanced, with demand well above historic norms.
“On average, there are now 57 enquiries per advertised rental property, more than double the long-term average, though notably down from the peak of over 100 enquiries a couple of years ago.
“It currently takes around 37 days to find a tenant, slightly longer than this time last year. The average rent now stands at £976 per month, a 7.3% annual increase and a 1.7% rise in the last quarter.
“Looking ahead, continued growth in the sales market, supported by more favourable borrowing conditions, is expected to provide more options for prospective buyers, which in turn should help to ease pressure on the rental sector. While headline rents are likely to continue rising, we expect the pace of growth to moderate over the remainder of the year.”
In the sales market, activity continued on a strong footing through the second quarter of the year, with over 7,100 home sales between April and June. This is up 12% compared with the same period in 2024.
As well as more sales, residential properties also reached ‘sale agreed’ four days faster than in the April to June period last year.
Price growth also strengthened, with the average house price in Northern Ireland increasing by 8.9% on an annual basis to just over £230,000. Breaking the figures down by council area, Derry City & Strabane experienced the highest average price rise at 14.5% over the year.
The areas of Northern Ireland with the most properties sale agreed in Q2 2025 were:
- Botanic, Belfast: 223
- Titanic, Belfast: 206
- Ormiston, Belfast: 195
- Lisnasharragh, Belfast: 173
- Newtownards: 172
- Lurgan: 169
- Bangor Central: 169
- Craigavon: 160
- Ballyclare: 153
- Castle, Belfast: 151