Debate contribution: First-time Buyers: Support

Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on 3 February 2025.

MLA

Mr Brian Kingston

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

First-time Buyers: Support

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4774596

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I can point to many examples of the DUP's strong record of delivery in the housing Ministry, and its actions speak louder than words. The DUP has been supportive of the co-ownership scheme. Our Minister for Communities, Gordon Lyons, increased the upper value limit for qualifying properties in order to help more people into homeownership through co-ownership. Over the period 2020-21 to 2024-25, £150 million of financial transactions capital (FTC) funding has helped over 4,400 households into homeownership. During the financial year 2023-24, 91% of co-ownership purchases were made by first-time buyers. Shared ownership is a crucial part of the affordable housing market in Northern Ireland and continues to support people into homeownership. The DUP has taken action to ensure that co-ownership keeps pace with house prices, meaning that more people can find a home to suit their needs. The DUP has also helped working families by launching the intermediate rent product, whereby a long-term, low-interest loan is offered to an operator to develop a supply of affordable homes for rent at a 20% discount to the market value. Furthermore, among all the competing demands on the departmental budget, Gordon Lyons has provided a 6·4% increase in funding for the Supporting People programme in this financial year. That programme supports a range of statutory and voluntary support services for vulnerable and homeless people. There are clear challenges facing housing in Northern Ireland. However, the DUP and our Minister have tackled those challenges head-on. Just last week, the Minister announced the removal of intimidation points. That will level the playing field in housing allocation for everyone who has suffered intimidation or the threat of violence. While others have talked about the issue, the DUP Minister has acted. First-time buyers are under extreme pressure when trying to secure a home. Simply put, supply is not keeping up with demand. The Chartered Institute of Housing has advised that the number of new houses built here in the 2023-24 financial year was the lowest in a decade. The most recent house price index shows that average house prices in Northern Ireland have increased by 5·7% over the past year. That is impacting on the affordability of mortgages and deposits. Economic challenges have been forecast to continue, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicting that interest rates on mortgages will rise to 4·5% in 2027. Its forecast following the Labour Budget is that house prices will rise 2·5% more than predicted in its March 2024 forecast. Housing affordability is a growing problem. That is recognised in objective 1 of the housing supply strategy, which is to:

"Increase housing supply and affordable options across all tenures to meet housing need and demand".

There is a steadily increasing gap between supply and demand, and I trust that all Members will agree that we need to increase housing supply across all areas. For that to happen, we need to see a speeding up of the planning system and ensure that the necessary infrastructure, particularly the waste water infrastructure, is in place. The housing supply strategy sets out the levels that are needed to increase supply. That includes increasing land availability and improving our knowledge of public land that may be suitable for housing. Housing has been secured as a priority in the draft Programme for Government. We must provide more social, affordable and sustainable housing. It is a complex issue, which requires work across the Departments, especially Communities, Health, Justice and Infrastructure, as we work towards increasing housing supply. The new housing supply strategy has provided a long-term framework for the actions that are required to increase supply and address the main barriers to supply here. We recognise that transforming housing supply will require not only a collective response from the Executive but real collaboration from local government, community groups, the construction industry and financial bodies. I commend our amendment to the House.

651 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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