PRICED OUT OF THE HOUSING MARKET
SPIRALLING property prices in Newtownabbey have led to the disappearance of affordable housing from the borough, according to startling new statistics.
Between 2001 and 2007, as house prices shot up by an astonishing 207%, the average wage packet in the borough rose by just 21%.
The dramatic consequence of this widening gap, says the Housing Executive, is that the proportion of affordable housing in Newtownabbey has plummeted from a 54% level in 2001 to zero by last year.
The figures, revealed by Housing Executive director Colm McCaughley during a recent meeting with Newtownabbey councillors, make depressing reading for first-time buyers who are struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder.
Presenting the latest Newtownabbey District Plan to the Borough Council, Mr. McCaughley revealed that the average local property price increased by 104,500 and the typical salary by 3,636 between 2001 and 2007.
He used the statistics to illustrate how the relationship between houses prices and local income is a "key factor".
Explained the director: "The rapid increase in house prices has created an acute affordability problem in the Newtownabbey borough. First-time buyers are finding it difficult to access the owner-occupied market and mortgages are harder to obtain."
The director described the local private rented sector, which increased from 1,330 properties in 2001 to 3,070 in 2006, as a "viable and affordable housing option".
In his report to the Council, Mr. McCaughley also highlighted concerns over a sharp increase in the waiting list for Housing Executive accomodation in Newtownabbey - and the pressure to meet the need for over 600 new social housing units across the borough by 2012.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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