‘Slow recovery’ for housing market

The figures were revealed in this year’s District Housing Plan for Carrickfergus, presented to members of the local authority on Monday evening.

The University of Ulster’s Quarterly House Price Index recorded the average house price for the borough in 2012 to be £104,673.

This represented a decrease of 3.8 percent on the previous year’s figure of £108,834 , and also fell below the Northern Ireland average of £138,147.

The report also noted that the housing market in Carrickfergus Borough has been “slow to recover” from the post 2007 decline, with no significant change in property prices or volume of transactions since last year.

There remains a high number of unsold properties in the borough in spite of significantly reduced prices since 2007 due to restrictions in lending and the associated affordability gap.

The majority of house sales are to first time buyers or buy-to-let investors purchasing properties at the lower end of the market, such as repossessions. The report also found that first time buyers entering the housing market tend to be older than in the past.

However, the report also noted that the private rented sector has grown significantly since 2001.

“Estate agents report that there is no shortage of supply in this sector in Carrickfergus borough, with stock concentrated in Carrickfergus town,” the document added.