An economic success story for NI

The recovery of the housing market has been one of Northern Ireland’s key economic success stories, a mortgage expert has said.

John Marr, head of government and social housing at UK Finance, stressed that while uncertainty hangs over the economy as a result of Brexit and the absence of a devolved government, the domestic mortgage market has been somewhat shielded from the impact seen in other areas.

“The performance of the market to date has been very strong. The housing market in Northern Ireland has been very successful and has come back very strongly, “ he explained.

The affordability of housing helped boost the market for Northern Ireland’s new home owners, with first time buyers having now reached 10,500 – the highest since 2004.

Even though Northern Ireland lacks the breadth of direct government support available in other parts of the UK, the market here is still performing exceptionally well, with record numbers of first time buyers coming through, according to Mr Marr.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen, particularly in terms of how the UK’s relationship with Europe pans out, but notwithstanding that the signs are still positive.

Northern Ireland’s housing market has been a huge success story and is very much a comeback story”.

SOURCE: Belfast Telegraph

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