Buying in South Belfast

What you'll find

Large Victorian, Edwardian and 1930s houses around Malone and the Malone Road, red-brick terraces and converted flats in Stranmillis, the Holylands and the streets off the Lisburn Road, and family semis and detached homes further out in Finaghy, Belvoir, Newtownbreda and up the Ormeau Road towards Rosetta. Apartments cluster around Botanic and the edge of the city centre.

Who buys here

Families paying for space, schools and the parks along the Lagan, professionals working at Queen's, Belfast City Hospital and the city centre, landlords buying near the universities, and first-time buyers looking for a terrace or flat off the Lisburn and Ormeau roads.

Mortgage points to note

• Stamp duty. Many family homes around Malone sit well above the £300,000 first-time buyer nil band, and some above £500,000, where first-time buyer relief stops altogether. Run the figure before you set a budget.
• HMOs and student lets. A house let to three or more people from more than two households needs an HMO licence from Belfast City Council. Plenty of buy-to-let lenders won't touch HMOs or want you to have landlord experience first; a smaller group specialise in them. If you're buying a former student house to live in, expect the survey to pick up fire doors, extra kitchens or locks on bedroom doors.
• Converted flats. Victorian houses split into flats come with leases of very different quality. Check how many years are left on the lease, who insures and maintains the building, and what the ground rent is. Short leases and absent landlords cut the lender list sharply.
• Period and conservation-area homes. Parts of Malone are conservation areas, and some houses are listed. Older roofs, solid walls and unapproved extensions can bring valuation conditions. A full building survey is money well spent.

Nearby

See also Belfast city centre and Titanic Quarter, East Belfast and Lisburn.