IT WAS revealed recently that in the last quarter of 2020, residential properties in the Fermanagh and Omagh area increased in price by 4.9 per cent on the previous quarter ­– the second-highest percentage increase in property prices recorded across Northern Ireland (NI) in the period.

Land and Property Services (LPS), assisted by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), released the House Price Index (HPI) report for Quarter 4, 2020 on February 17.

As well as the quarterly increase, annually house prices have risen by 3.3 per cent, with the average price of a Fermanagh property now standing at £134,513.

William McFarland, of Eadie, McFarland & Co Estate Agents, said the property market in the county has been experiencing a strong price growth over the past few years and, in particular, in the last quarter of 2020 and the past 12 months.

“The market is currently extremely busy. The theme at the minute is very strong levels of demand, and low levels of supply,” explained William.

“This leads to large levels of viewings on properties fresh to the market, and bidding matches and short selling times are the norm.

“We recently had a property which had nine viewings booked within the first three days, and instantly offers were above the guide price.”

A number of factors have brought about this strong performance locally, according to William.

“Factors such as record low interest rates, the continued relocation of people from the UK and elsewhere into Co. Fermanagh, working from home and a need for more space, strong investor and first-time buyer demand, and lastly, the Stamp Duty holiday.

“In addition, due to Covid restrictions, a lot of people have increased their savings levels as they haven’t had to pay for foreign holidays, weddings, nights out, retail therapy or hair and beauty regimes.

“This has all led to a feel-good factor, with a lot of people having more money in their pockets and assisting with getting a home deposit.”

While the majority of buyers are still from the local market, there is a strong trend of UK buyers, while people are returning to Fermanagh much younger than they typically would.

“These new buyers are people who are living and working elsewhere but are now able to work from home and unlikely to need to return to their former place of work. All they need is a fast internet connection and nice surroundings. [To have a] London salary with Fermanagh house prices and Lough Erne – who wouldn’t want that?”

Many people may have expected house prices to fall during the Covid pandemic as several industries ground to a halt, but William does not see it as a surprise for the market to be performing so well.

“NI house prices have been recovering from the historic 2008 price correction, they have been on an upward trajectory since 2013.

“Covid has been causing a rebalancing of a lot of things in life, and the economy. There have been a lot of losers but quite a few winners [from the impact of the pandemic].

“I believe the housing market performance is similar [to such gains and losses]. Perhaps some overheated property markets in the UK will not fare well, but Northern Ireland and Co. Fermanagh should continue to benefit from relocations to here, and upward pressure on pricing.”

And William sees the residential property market continuing to perform well with the vaccine roll-out, rapid testing and Government support all playing a part for a “bounce-back” scenario once the economy reopens.

“I, for one, know a lot of Fermanagh folk who are ready to enjoy life to the full when the time comes,” added William.

The HPI measures changes in the price of residential properties sold in NI, and uses Stamp Duty information on residential property sales recorded by HMRC.