DNG chief: Property prices will rise by 8%, not 20%

The chief executive of the Douglas Newman Good (DNG) has contradicted economists who predict rising house prices.

“Up until last week, I had no plans to discuss property prices in any detail but when I heard one of the country’s most well-known economists on the radio the other day, saying prices were going to rise by 15% this year, and others saying they’re spiralling out of control, I felt I needed to set the record straight,” said DNG chief Keith Lowe.

Last week, the Economic and Social Research Institute said house prices could rise by as much as 20% in real terms — where inflation is taken into account — over the next three years.