Latest Housing Bulletin: homelessness, supply and house prices
The Department for Communities has released the Northern Ireland Housing Bulletin for 1st April – 30th June 2016. The latest statistics highlight interesting developments in homelessness, housing supply and house prices in Quarter 2 of this year.
Homelessness
4,655 households presented to the Housing Executive as homeless in April to June of this year; this is an increase of 7% from the previous quarter, with the most common reasons reported being that “current accommodation was not reasonable”, and “sharing breakdowns/family disputes”.
Despite the increase in households presenting as homeless, the number of households accepted by the Housing Executive as “full duty applicants” (FDA) fell by 2%, to 2,677. Amongst these households, only 205 had their duty discharged – whether through being housed, or losing their FDA status some other way. This is one of the lowest levels of discharge since the Housing Bulletin began gathering statistics.
The Housing Executive is due to launch a draft Homelessness Strategy for public consultation in December. The Executive will be attending Housing Rights’ Practitioner’s Forum on 10th January, as part of the consultation process. The practitioner’s forum is open to members of Housing Rights; to find out more, or to book a place, contact [email protected].
Supply
Building Control recorded 1,755 private-sector new starts in this quarter, and 1,317 private sector completions. The Housing Executive, meanwhile, recorded 114 new starts as part of the Social Housing Development Programme, and 239 completions.
The supply of new housing, particularly social housing, has received significant political attention recently, with the ONS’s reclassification of housing associations which could limit housing associations’ access to new-build finance, and an Assembly Opposition motion on homelessness and housing supply.
The Minister for Communities, Paul Givan, has pledged to deliver 9,600 new social homes, and 3,750 new affordable homes, between 2016 and 2021. The Ministers for Finance and Communities have also pledged to bring forward legislation, to reverse the ONS reclassification.
House prices
The average Northern Ireland house price for this quarter was £123,241 – an increase of 3.8% from the previous quarter, and an increase of 11.1% since the start of 2015. It should be noted, however, that sales decreased by 28% between Q1 and Q2 of this year; house prices also still remain significantly below their 2007 peak of £224,670.
This means that a significant portion of Northern Irish home-owners remain in substantial negative equity. Moreover, it is likely that lender repossessions will begin to increase significantly, in the wake of the FCA concluding their review of “double-billing” practices originally raised by Housing Rights.
Homeowners who are in mortgage arrears, or struggling to keep up payments, can contact Housing Rights’ Mortgage Debt Advice Service by phoning 028 9024 5640, visiting our advice website housingadviceNI, or chatting to an adviser online.
Help with housing issues
People experiencing any of these issues, or any other housing issue, can contact Housing Rights for advice by:
- Phoning our advice helpline, on 028 9024 5640, or
- Visiting our online advice site, housingadviceNI
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