After five years of extraordinary increases, followed by spectacular falls, the cost of
Property in Northern Ireland seems to have stabilised. It has not been an easy ride for the province as the Troubles had a lasting impact on its wealth and it was not until about 2005 that the so-called 'peace dividend' kicked in across the housing market. As inward investment by UK and multinational firms began to transform the economy, demand for homes blossomed. By 2007, the Halifax was reporting that, after two years of feverish activity by buyers, house prices were soaring by 37% per year and at one stage, the Nationwide building society said prices were up by 57.6% in just 12 months. An average
Northern Ireland Property then cost more than £200,000, making it Britain's most expensive region after London and the South of England. But then came the downturn — and it hit hard. Since 2007, prices have fallen by 30% on average and they are only now beginning to stabilise. Nationwide says the average home price in the province is £134,435, with
Property in Belfast being the most expensive, where a typical home is £194,164. Although overall average house prices for
Properties in Northern Ireland are still down, the rate of decline has slowed significantly.
The Northern Ireland Property market has always been quite unlike the rest of the United Kingdom. In Britain, most areas are short of land and high-density apartments have dominated home-building in recent years. But in Northern Ireland there has long been a strong demand for bungalows with gardens. Planning laws differ from the British mainland, so even among new-builds houses have always outnumbered new apartments. It would seem that it is only Belfast which suffers from the oversupply of new flats common in large British cities since 2006.
Today there are indicators of recovery across the region, although estate agents and housing analysts stress that the signs are fragile. 'Transaction levels are rising, but at a marginal rate,' says Tom McClelland, of Northern Ireland's RICS. 'We anticipate that average house prices will be flat over the next couple of years.'
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