Newry first-time buyers still facing housing market challenges | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Newry first-time buyers still facing housing market challenges

Newry first-time buyers are still finding it difficult to get on the housing ladder despite new figures showing house prices in Northern Ireland have fallen.

Co-Ownership, a not-for-profit organisation seeking to help people in Northern Ireland into affordable homeownership, says that despite a 1 per cent fall in house prices in Q2 2018, the fact remains that year-on-year average house prices in Northern Ireland have rose by 4.4 per cent.

 

 

House prices in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area fell by 4.8 per cent in Q2 2018, according to the latest Northern Ireland House Price Index, published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

However, year-on-year house prices in the area rose by 4.1 per cent (Q2 2017 – Q2 2018).

Though average house prices remain significantly lower than their peak in 2007, affordability is still a cause for concern for many first-time buyers; but there are options for prospective homeowners to support them onto the housing ladder, the organisation stresses.

Co-Ownership Chief Executive Mark Graham says that as house prices continue to rise, coupled with the recent interest rates hike, first-time buyers are feeling the strain more than ever.

 

 

“We’re seeing house prices rise at twice the rate of inflation and paired with stagnant wages and the recent rise in interest rates the pursuit of homeownership for young people is becoming ever more a distant aspiration; research indicates that many young people could still be in a cycle of private rent into retirement age,” he told Newry Times.

“The housing market is unforgiving for the first-time buyer despite average house prices in Northern Ireland being the lowest across the UK, but there is a silver lining in what can seem a murky landscape.

“Through Co-Ownership a buyer can choose a property anywhere in Northern Ireland up to a value of £165,000 and purchase shares in that property between 50 and 90 per cent. Often, you don’t need a deposit when purchasing through Co-Ownership,” Mark added.

 

 

For more information, visit co-ownership.org or call (028) 90327276.

You can also visit Co-Ownership’s office on Murray Street, Belfast, where team members are available to help with any queries.  

 

 

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Posted by on Sep 4 2018. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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