Northern Ireland is UK’s “hottest” market, claims leading property group
One of the UK’s best-known property finding firms has claimed that Northern Ireland is the hottest market out of the four nations.
Garrington Property Finders says some areas in Northern Ireland are seeing ‘well-priced, architecturally significant homes find buyers at a pace that would have been inconceivable a few years ago’.
In particular, it said these areas include Belfast, and the North Down coast.
The property group has opened its doors to the market in the region, announcing that it will serve the “increasing numbers of British buyers drawn by the province’s strong economy and growth potential”.
Northern Ireland has been the UK’s most consistent property story for the past two years.”
Jonathan Hopper, CEO of Garrington Property Finders, said: “Northern Ireland has been the UK’s most consistent property story for the past two years, and the province’s prime tier is where the most interesting chapter is now being written.
“Our expansion here reflects both the market’s maturity and our conviction that buyers operating at this level deserve the same quality of independent representation in Belfast or on the North Down coast as they would expect in Mayfair, Edinburgh or the Cotswolds.”
Better value
Land Registry data shows that the average price of a home in Northern Ireland rose 7.5% in 2025.
It compares with the UK average of 2.4%, and compares to the zero growth seen in South East England and the 1% fall suffered by the average London home.
Meanwhile, in the final three months of last year, the average Northern Ireland home sold for £195,936, which is significantly better value than in the capital and south east of England.
Garrington explained that Northern Ireland’s combination of better value, stunning scenery, good schools and connectivity all make properties in the region highly attractive to buyers from the British mainland.
It said that growth potential is also a major attraction, with values in the region having grown consistently for 12 years. It claimed that robust market fundamentals suggest there is still room for further increases.
