Insurance News Archive

Price growth in Northern Ireland 'easing'

Recent months have seen the strong house prices in London only beaten by the substantial increases in Northern Ireland, but this growth has begun to wane, it has been suggested.

The growth had been supported recently by investment from buy-to-let purchasers who have transferred their attention to other markets, according to a spokesman for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).

Joe Fry, the head of research for the province's housing authority, said that these investors have been "moving on in the hope of making 'quick kills' in terms of capital appreciation" elsewhere.

With investment reportedly heading for the north of England instead, Mr Fry predicted that prices in Northern Ireland will not be able to sustain their growth.

He said: "I think we'll see a bit of stagnation, maybe a five to ten per cent fall, but no real collapse – unless we get hit by a major recession prompted by the sub prime market in the USA.

"The bottom line is, prices have just been going so crazy over the last 18 months, there's no way they're sustainable at that level. They never have been in history!"

26 Sep 2007