Tom Kirk, NHBC director for Northern Ireland, says: "The statistics reflect a slow down in the new housing market generally but with the number of new houses being built increasing to over 2,500 for this quarter, a six per cent increase on the first quarter for 2001 - we hope that steady growth will continue over coming months."

In Northern Ireland the average anticipated selling price of new homes (registered with NHBC) during the second quarter of 2001 was £86,000, a two per cent increase on quarter two 2000 (£84,000). Based on actual selling prices, the proportion of homes sold for over £100,000 was 28 per cent, an increase on the same period last year (20 per cent).

NHBC's first time buyers' ability to buy index decreased by three points during the quarter to 106, a drop on the figure for the first quarter of 2001 (109). The index is based on a formula which takes into account the average cost of homes bought by first time buyers, average income and mortgage interest rates (from the Nationwide Building Society). The higher the index, the greater the ability to buy.

UK-wide figures show a total of 37,657 applications to start new homes during the quarter, a six per cent decrease on the same period in 2000 (39,860). Of that total, 33,559 relate to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations), and show an eight per cent decrease on 2000 (36,449). Housing association starts totalled 4,098 - an increase of twenty per cent on quarter two 2000 (3,411).

NHBC figures show there were 37,397 new build completions during the second quarter of 2001, showing drop of seven per cent on the same quarter last year (40,056).

The figure for the average daily sales of new homes in the second quarter of 2001 is 555, a decrease of five per cent on the same period a year ago (582).

Q2 2001 regional figures

ends