Good news for homeowners as house values rise in May

Property investors in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK have received some positive news following the publication of data showing house prices rose in May by 1.2 per cent.

This is the second time in three months the value of houses has gone up and the increase has also resulted in a sharp improvement in the annual rate of decline from 15 per cent to 11.3 per cent, figures from Nationwide show.

According to the organisation, which has said that the average value of a typical house now stands at £154,016, the improvements may be down to low supply in the market.

However, Nationwide's chief economist Martin Gahbauer said despite the improvements from the low point seen at the beginning of the year, "it is still too early to say that the market is turning definitively".

Abbey Mortgages recently revealed that many homeowners did not know the true value of their properties as some were overvaluing them, which could lead to problems when trying to remortgage.

Johnny McCoy, a partner at Wilson Nesbitt solicitors specialising in lender services, recently commented that "accurately assessing the value of your property has always been a difficult task, and is even more so in the current climate when house prices are only just beginning to show signs of settling".

"It will however save a great deal of time when applying for a new mortgage or looking for a new house if a home owner can be as accurate as possible when estimating the value of their home.

"Enquiring into recent sales of houses in the immediate area can be a good indicator and there are some useful websites that will provide some assistance doing this. In the current market we would suggest that a conservative approach is always taken to estimating value."
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