Since 1737
Price: 72p (IR 1.05 EURO) Monday, May 30, 2011
Fergie plans his
response to Barca
beating SEE SPORT
Property prices
are 50pc down
by ben lowry
ben.lowry@newsletter.co.uk
HOUSE prices in Northern Ireland
have exactly halved since the peak, a
major survey has found.
The Halifax quarterly index shows
that property values in the province
have fallen 49.9 per cent from their
highest point in 2007.
In the first three months of the
year, the average home in Northern
Ireland was £115,093, according to
the lender’s non-seasonally adjusted
quarterly data. This contrasted with
an average of £229,590 in the second
quarter of 2007.
It also represented a drop
of 6.6 per cent over the year.
The Halifax survey is the first one
of its kind to find that prices have
dropped by half. The Nationwide’s
latest quarterly figures record prices
as down 47 per cent from peak.
The University of Ulster survey
has also shown a continuing
downward trend over the last
year, but their statistics point to
a slightly lower overall drop of
43 per cent since 2007.
Tom McClelland, of the Royal
Institute of Chartered Surveyors,
told the News Letter that taking an
average of the findings in the three
main surveys would roughly tally
with his own assessment. In some
areas, he added, prices had dropped
by more than half.
“Some recent repossession sales are
showing price decreases of over 60 per
cent and are back at levels where first
time buyers can comfortably afford
to enter the market,” Mr McClelland
said.
“But the average drop across
Northern Ireland is probably in and
around 50 per cent down from the
2007 peak.
Turn to page 6
Weather dampens Ballymena Show turnout – SEE PAGE 10
The pride of Northern Ireland www.newsletter.co.uk
News Letter, Monday,
May 30, 2011
25
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Knife victim
fights for life
A MAN is fighting for his life
after being stabbed in south
Belfast.
The 27-year-old victim,
who is said to be in a critical
condition, was attacked in the
Cooke Street area yesterday
morning.
It is understood he was
assaulted with a large knife
and suffered wounds to his
stomach.
Meanwhile, in a separate
incident, a 24-year-old man
was stabbed in the neck
Memorial service for murdered soldiers and face during an attack in
Warrenpoint.
The incident took place in
Duke Street following a fight
at around 2am yesterday.
See page 4
Cottage fire
‘cruel blow’
CALLS have been made for
the urgent restoration of
the ancestral home of a US
president which was gutted
in a mystery fire in Co Antrim
at the weekend.
The thatch roof and many
of the contents of Arthur
Cottage in Cullybackey were
destroyed in Friday night’s
blaze, the cause of which has
not yet been established.
DUP assembly member
Paul Frew said the much
loved and historic link to
the 21st president, Chester
Alan Arthur, was the “jewel
in the crown” of Ballymena’s
tourism industry. TUV leader
Jim Allister described the fire
as “a cruel blow”.
See page 3
Queen fears
UK break-up
THE Queen has concerns
over a possible break-up of
the United Kingdom, it has
been claimed.
Her Majesty met with
the prime minister at
Buckingham Palace after
the Scottish National Party’s
(SNP) recent election success,
it was reported yesterday.
Around 700 people gathered in Belfast yesterday to remember three off-duty soldiers murdered by the IRA 40 See page 9 and
Morning View, page 14
years ago. The event marked the first anniversary of the unveiling and dedication of a memorial. See page 4