Property prices in Northern Ireland have exactly halved since the peak, a major survey has found.
The Halifax quarterly index shows that property values in the province have fallen 49.9 per cent from their highest point in 2007.
In the first three months of the year, the average property in Northern Ireland was £115,093, according to the lender’s non-seasonally adjusted quarterly data. This contrasted with an average of £229,590 in the second quarter of 2007.
It also represented a drop of 6.6 per cent over the year. The Halifax survey is the first one of its kind to find that prices have dropped by half. The Nationwide’s latest quarterly figures record property prices as down 47 per cent from peak.
A University of Ulster survey has also shown a continuing downward trend over the last year, but their statistics point to a slightly lower overall drop of 43 per cent since 2007.
Tom McClelland, of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, told the News Letter that taking an average of the findings in the three main surveys would roughly tally with his own assessment. In some areas, he added, prices had dropped by more than half.
‘Some recent repossession sales are showing price decreases of over 60 per cent and are back at levels where first time buyers can comfortably afford to enter the market,’ Mr McClelland said.
The RICS are hoping that activity levels will increase over the next three months as is normally expected in a summer market.
Jonathan Davis, an economist and wealth manager who in 2007 predicted the property collapse, says that the 50 per cent drop in Northern Ireland is the biggest fall in UK recorded house price history.
‘The house price bubble has been the biggest economic disaster for Northern Ireland,’ he said.
Mr Davis believes prices remain too high relative to average incomes.
Low property prices affect both the residential and commercial property market, with serviced offices and industrial properties also suffering from a deflated market.
Should you find yourself with residential or commercial property in Ireland, it is likely the value will have fallen rapidly in recent months. I would advise any commercial property agents to try weather the storm, if possible, but, be warned there is no immediate light at the end of the commercial property tunnel.
