House prices in Northern Ireland rose by 9.2% between April and June 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and the Department for Communities (NI) showed.
The standardised house price reached £202,487.
More than 50,000 households were on Northern Ireland’s social housing waiting list at the end of March 2026.
Of the 50,381 applicant households, 39,008 were in housing stress.
The total housing stock recorded 848,541 homes in April 2026, up 0.8% from 841,827 a year earlier.
There were 6,285 new dwelling starts during 2025-26, down 4.5% year-on-year.
This included 5,621 private sector homes and 664 social sector homes.
Completions fell by 2.7% to 5,956, including 5,141 private sector homes and 815 social sector homes.
Of the 5,755 residential planning decisions made during the year, 95% were approved.
Newry, Mourne and Down received the most residential planning applications, with 835.
However, it recorded the lowest approval rate at 89%.
Derry City and Strabane had the highest approval rate at 99%, followed by Belfast at 98%.
The average weekly private rent was £138 in 2024-25, compared with £98 in the social rented sector.
The Affordable Warmth Scheme improved 1,839 homes during 2025-26, while the average rates bill was £1,239.
Georgia Knapp, policy and public affairs manager at Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Northern Ireland, said: “The quality of our homes is fundamental to our quality of life. The increase in social housing starts is a positive sign, and we commend the hard work of everyone involved.
“However, these figures fall far short of need as the social housing waiting list continues to grow concurrently.
“We also welcome the significant work undertaken by homelessness services to keep these figures from rising, as well as the recent announcement from Minister Lyons on the establishment of a Northern Ireland Homelessness Commission, but we must also acknowledge the huge pressure on these services to deal with the breadth and complexity of these issues.”
Knapp added: “The sustained year-on-year increase in the social housing waiting list and housing stress is a moral failure of our society.
“It is shameful that our current system is not meeting the basic needs of a growing number of people and continues to worsen.
“Overall, the scale of Northern Ireland’s housing crisis is no longer a surprise to any of us – it’s unfortunately old news now – but what is surprising is the lack of urgency from the Executive.”
She said: “The figures are going the wrong way in almost all the main statistical measures, and they have been for some time now.
“All of this conspires to create a stressful and difficult environment for people in need of a safe, secure place to call home.
“We urge the NI Executive and relevant departments to review capital funding, streamline planning processes, and tackle essential infrastructure issues to ensure everyone has a safe, affordable and quality home to call their own.”
She added: “We need long-term, sustainable investment to ensure a stable, secure future for everyone in Northern Ireland.
“This is a problem we can and must fix. How much worse does it have to get before we see positive change?”
https://theintermediary.co.uk/2026/10/northern-ireland-house-prices-up-9-2-data-reveals/
