NI Conservatives’ finance spokesman, Harry Cullen, has described the continued fall in house prices as “another indication that this executive is not getting Northern Ireland’s economy moving”.
“There’s not a shadow of doubt that the property market had become grossly distorted during the boom years,” Harry observed. “Prices needed to fall, but the price index shows that homes have lost, on average, over 50% of their value since 2007 and there appears to be no end in sight. That’s cause for concern by itself, but it is also a sign that the executive’s wider economic policy is not working.”
“Credit is not yet flowing, either to prospective home owners or to businesses, rates of unemployment are up while the rest of the UK is creating more jobs and the percentage of workers employed in the public sector is still just under a third, at a time when rebalancing the economy is supposed to be the chief priority. The property price figures are a further blow to the construction industry, which still employs proportionately more people in Northern Ireland than in other regions.”
“Unfortunately the economy seems to be moving in the wrong direction, despite the fact that it is supposed to be the executive’s top priority. We need less complacency from government ministers and more action on things like investment in infrastructure, getting credit moving through loan guarantee schemes and, most critically of all, boosting private sector growth, by empowering businesses to create jobs.”