It’s only an hour-and-a-half up the road from Dublin, and prices are soaring faster than they ever did at the height of our own decade-long boom. Figures from Ulster Bank show an average price hike of 5% across the north for October alone.
The bank attributes the surge to a rapid pick-up in first-time buyers combined with a matching decline in supply of properties for sale.
The 12-month growth figure for Northern Ireland is now hitting 23%, making it the fastest-growing market in Britain and Ireland.
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Non-Belfast homes have now surged beyond the £1m (€1.48m) barrier in Newry, Holywood and Portstewart. Notable among them is Glen House, a five-bedroom property for sale in Holywood, Co Down, with an asking price of £1.75m.
Not surprising then that equity-rich southern investors have been pouring in to take advantage, adding to the heat. The flood into Newry alone has seen the town’s prices appreciate by 371% since 1996.
With better transport links and the flagging market south of the border, the six counties can ready themselves for an all-out invasion by Dubliners and Corkonians in search of the best capital value increases in western Europe — and right on their own doorsteps at that.
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The €1.6m sale by FitzGerald Chambers represents a cost of €1,649 per sq ft.