NI house prices 'could take 10 years to recover', says report
07-10-2014
Property prices in Northern Ireland could take at least 10 years to recover to what they were before the market collapsed, according to a report.
Business services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said that prices are still around half of their peak values in August 2007.
This despite a recent "modest recovery" in prices.
Average prices in Scotland are 5% below peak and 3% in Wales.
PwC said Northern Ireland's "depressed" property market, high levels of negative equity and low levels of disposable income mean a slower economic recovery compared to the rest of the UK.
The report also suggested house prices in Northern Ireland will rise by almost 5% this year.
However, it expected growth to slow towards 2020 meaning it could be at least 2024 before prices return to boom time levels.