Residential property prices in the Fermanagh and Omagh area have fallen according to the House Price Index report for Q1 of 2023.

Collated by Land & Property Services, assisted by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency, the Index measures change in the price of residential property sold in Northern Ireland (NI).

The Index uses Stamp Duty information on residential property sales recorded by HMRC, and is used as the NI component of the single official UK HPI. The statistics are comparable with other UK regions.

Between Q4 (October-December, 2022) and Q1 (January-March, 2023) there has been a 2.7 per cent decrease in house prices in Fermanagh and Omagh.

This is the third-highest decrease after Ards and North Down (-4.7 per cent) and Derry City and Strabane (-3.4 per cent). It is the same drop as Mid Ulster.

However, house prices in the area were still 4.7 per cent higher in the first quarter of this year than for the same period in 2022. The average price of a house in Fermanagh is now £158, 172, and is similar to the average price of a house in Belfast (£158,219).

Nick Finlay, from Montgomery Finlay & Co. Estate Agent in Enniskillen, said with more stability in the market, houses prices are “holding at their current valuations, if not a slight increase”.

“We have not, in general terms, witnessed any fall in value across the residential market. The impact of interest rates and the cost of living crisis has had an impact in the level of interest in the property market; however, this has been counteracted by the low levels in supply still available across Fermanagh.

“Property is still moving positively at the lower- to mid-range price points, but the higher-end properties have been slower to move, and I can only see this as a direct impact of the continued interest rate rises over the last six to nine months.”

Mr. Finlay said there is a shortage in new properties coming to the market in comparison to this time last year, but added there are positives to take from having a stable and steady market environment, and that provides more confidence to buyers.

“Looking to the future, I would like to think the stability in the market will provide price rises at a steady rate, and see interest from buyers and sellers increasing. Hopefully as inflation curbs we will see interest rates hold and this will provide more confidence in the market.”

In Q4 of 2022, the average house price in Fermanagh and Omagh was £162,308, higher than that of Belfast (£160,798).

Lisburn and Castlereagh has the highest average house price, at £204,122, while Derry City and Strabane has the lowest at £148,548.