New homebuyer demand in Northern Ireland rose further last month, continuing the housing market’s strong start to the year, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey.
A net balance of 62% of NI respondents noted an increase in new buyer enquiries, which is the highest this balance has been since April 2021, edging up from the net balance of 44% that was seen in the report previous.
And sellers are also active in early 2026 too, with the number of new homes coming to the market also on the rise. A net balance of 28% of NI respondents reported that there was an increase in new instructions to sell. This follows the net balance of 50% that was seen in January’s survey.
As such, NI surveyors also note that agreed sales rose through February. A net balance of 33% of NI respondents noted an increase in sales, up slightly from the net balance of 30% seen in the survey before.
And surveyors remain optimistic about the sales outlook too, despite some concerns in the wider economy over inflation, interest rates and global instability. A net balance of 33% of NI respondents are expecting an uplift in sales over the next three months.
Regarding pricing, a net balance of 85% of survey respondents reported that house prices rose over the past three months. And looking ahead, a net balance of 79% expect that house prices will continue rising over the three months ahead.
Samuel Dickey, RICS NI Residential Spokesperson, said: “NI’s housing market remained robust through February, with solid price growth and demand holding steady. It is encouraging to see respondents to this month’s survey continuing to report that there are more houses are coming to the market given the supply and demand imbalances that we have seen over recent years. But, in saying this, there is still not enough supply to meet market demand which in turn is pushing prices up.”