THE BELFAST METROPOLITAN HOUSING MARKET AREA: a Local Housing System Analysis
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THE BELFAST METROPOLITAN HOUSING MARKET AREA: a local housing system analysis Dr Tony O’Sullivan Gillian Young Prof. Kenneth Gibb Acknowledgements We would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to the organisations, and individuals who contributed to the production of this document. We would like to thank officials from the NIHE for their invaluable advice and technical assistance throughout all stages of this project: Esther Christie, Joe Frey, Stephen Semple, Robin Hawe, Jahnet Thomas, Michael Conway and Patrice Reilly. We would also like to thank Louise Brown and David McIlhatton from the University of Ulster who very kindly customised analysis of the price data used to prepare the Northern Ireland House Price Index. We would like to thank Professor Steve Wilcox from York University who provided additional summary house price information from the Regulated Mortgage survey. We would also like to thank officials from various Northern Ireland Departments and Agencies that we sought assistance on data related issues. Finally we would like to thank member of the steering group: Esther Christie, Neil Gibson, Tom McClelland, Jay Colville, Stanley McGreal, Chris Williamson, Joe Frey, Connor McCann, Stephen Martin and Alan Crowe. Abbreviations BELFAST METROPOLITAN HMA Belfast Metropolitan Housing Market Area BMA Belfast Metropolitan Area BMAP Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan CHI Community Health Index DRD Department for Regional Development DSD Department for Social Development HMA Housing Market Area HNA Housing Needs Assessment LGD Local Government District LHSA Local Housing System Analysis NIHE Northern Ireland Housing Executive NISRA Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency ONS Office for National Statistics PPS Planning Policy Statement RDS Regional Development Strategy SDS Spatial Development Strategy TTWA Travel To Work Area table of contents LIST OF FIGURES 5 LIST OF TABLES 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 INTRODUCTION 11 Study Aims and Objectives 11 Report structure 11 THE BELFAST METROPOLITAN HOUSING MARKET AREA 13 Introduction 13 Delineating the Spatial Structure of the Belfast Metropolitan HMA 13 The Belfast Metropolitan HMA 15 Submarket Structure of the Belfast Metropolitan HMA 17 Summary 22 THE POLICY CONTEXT 24 Introduction 24 Programme for government and budget 24 Spending review and welfare reforms 25 Planning and local government reform 29 RDS housing requirements 34 NIHE Housing Need Assessment 36 Conclusions 37 KEY ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS 39 Introduction 39 Recent trends in economic performance 39 Recent employment trends 44 Labour market structure 48 Incomes and earnings 52 Population Trends and Projections 55 Household trends 66 Household projections 68 Short and longer term economic outlook and associated challenges 73 Summary 75 4 THE BELFAST METROPOLITAN HMA: THE OWNER OCCUPIED SECTOR 78 Introduction 78 Profile of the owner occupied sector 79 Profile of Owner Occupiers 85 House price and transaction trends 86 Affordability of owner occupation 93 Future prospects 99 Conclusion 100 PRIVATE RENTING WITHIN THE BELFAST METROPOLITAN HMA 103 Introduction 103 Expansion of private renting 103 Profile of the private rented sector stock 105 Key issues 112 Main findings 112 Tenancy management issues 115 Inter-tenure flows 116 Future prospects 117 SOCIAL HOUSING WITHIN THE BELFAST METROPOLITAN HMA 118 Introduction 118 Profile of the social housing stock 120 Profile of existing social rented tenants 127 Annual supply of social housing 129 Applications for social housing 134 Conclusion 141 BRINGING THE EVIDENCE TOGETHER AND IDENTIFYING IMBALANCES 143 Introduction 143 Dynamics and imbalances in the period to 2008 143 Current housing market dynamics and short term prospects 145 Longer -term housing system challenges 147 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE LHSA PROCESS 152 Study purpose 152 Reflections on the Belfast Metropolitan HMA Pilot 152 Lessons from Piloting the LHSA 153 The statistical evidence base 155 Drawing on qualitative evidence to support and enhance statistical analysis 157 Monitoring the Belfast Metropolitan HMA 157 5 LIST OF FIGURES 2.1: Belfast Metropolitan Housing Market Area (HMA) 16 2.2: The sub-market area of the Belfast metropolitan HMA 18 2.3: The Greater Belfast sub-market area 19 4.1: Total GVA (current prices) annual rate of growth, UK Countries, 1991-2009 39 4.2: GVA per head indicies compared to UK average (100), 1990-2009 40 4.3: Working age economically active & employment rates across UK, 2004-2010 44 4.4: International Labour Office (ILO) defined unemployment rates, 2001-2010 (%) 45 4.5: Annual claimant unemployment rate for Belfast metropolitan HMA, 2005-2010 46 4.6: Working age adults in receipt of key benefits, 2002-2010 48 4.7: Employees share by industry (SIC 2007 workplace based), 2009 50 4.8: Number of employees by sector, 2007-2009 51 4.9: Population of the Belfast Metropolitan HMA by age, 2008 (%) 56 4.10: Annual average rate in compontents of population change, 2001-2008 61 4.11: NISRA component of population change assumptions 63 4.12: Belfast Metrolpolitan HMA population projections by age, 2009-2021 (2008 based) 65 4.13: Change in household composition in the Belfast Metropolitan HMA, 2001-2006 67 4.14: Change in household composition in the Belfast Metrolpolitan HMA, 2001-2006 72 5.1: Census percentage of household living in owner occupied sector in 2001, by ward 78 5.2: Tenure of occupied stock plus vacant stock in Northern Ireland, 2001-2009 79 5.3: Annual vacancy rates across Belfast metropolitan HMA, 1996-2010 81 5.4: Tenure of vacant stock, Belfast Metropolitan HMA & the rest of Northern Ireland, 2006 81 5.5: Owners by household type, 2006 85 5.6: Mix adjusted house price index for UK & regions, 1968 to January 2011 (%) 87 5.7: Simple average house prices in Northern Ireland & the UK, 2001-2009 88 5.8: Mix adjusted Northern Ireland prices by new & other dwellings & first time buyer, 2005-2010 89 5.9: Sample of sales volumes across Belfast Metropolitan HMA, 2005-2009 89 5.10: Mean and lower quartile Belfast Metropolitan HMA price by dwelling type, 2005-2009 91 5.11: Average house price by Belfast metroploitan HMA sub-market, 2005-2009 91 5.12: Lower quartile & median house prices for 2/3 bedroom properties, 2005-2009 92 5.13: Effective rates for new mortgage lending, 2004-2010 94 6.1: Proportion of the stock in the Private Rented Sector, 2001 104 6.2: Private rental stock in Belfast Metropolitan HMA by type 105 7.1: Percentage of households living in Social Rented Sector in 2001, by ward 119 7.2: Percentage of Belfast Metropolitan HMA households in the Social Rented Sector, 2006 120 7.3: Social rented housing completions as a percentage of NIHE sales, 2001/2-2008/9 121 7.4: Percentage of social rented stock with 4 or less rooms, 2006 122 7.5: NIHE 2010 stock as a percentage of 1979 stock by number of bedrooms 123 7.6: NIHE 2010 stock distribution by number of bedrooms (%) 124 7.7: NIHE 2010 stock distribution by dwelling type (%) 124 7.8: Social rented stock distribution by year of construction (%) 125 7.9: Average public sector rent by selected UK region 2000/1-2009/10 126 7.10: Economic status of social renters in the Belfast Metropolitan HMA, 2006 129 7.11: NIHE relets by property size, 2008 & 2009 133 7.12: Change in annual number of new waiting list applicants in Belfast Metropolitan HMA, 2003-2009 138 6 LIST OF TABLES 1.1: Local authorities wholly or partly within the Belfast Metropolitan HMA 8 2.1: Local Government District wholly or partly within the Belfast Metropolitan HMA 15 2.2: Housing tenure of households, 2001 17 2.3: Housing tenure of households: Belfast Metropolitan HMA and Greater Belfast, 2001 20 3.1: Proposed new Local Government Districts 33 3.2: Housing requirement spatial allocation (housing growth indicators) 1998-2005 35 3.3: Proposed indicative housing requirement RDS 10 year review, 2008-2025 36 4.1: GVA growth for Northern ireland, split by area, 1995-2008 42 4.2: GVA for Northern Ireland & the Belfast economy by sector, 1995-2007 43 4.3: Number of employees in Belfast Metropolitan HMA by sub-market (workplace based), 2009 49 4.4: Full time workers gross weekly pay, 2005-2009 52 4.5: Full time employee gross weekly pay, 2009 53 4.6: Gross household income distributions, 2009 53 4.7: Income of households living in Belfast Metropolitan HMA, 2001 & 2006 53 4.8: Northern Ireland population estimates 2001-2008 54 4.9: Northern Ireland population estimates 2001-2008 55 4.10: NISRA estimated A8 stock population by Local Government District, 2007 57 4.11: NISRA alternative Northern Irelnad population projections 59 4.12: Belfast metropolitan HMA population projections 2010-2023 62 4.13: Belfast Metropolitan HMA household estimates 2001-2009 64 4.14: NISRA 2008 based household projections for Northern Ireland, 2010-2023 66 4.15: NISRA 2008 based household projections for Belfast Metropolitan HMA 2010-2023 69 4.16: NISRA 2008 based projected households by household type, 2010-2023 70 5.1: New dwelling sector starts in the Belfast MetropolitanHMA, 2000-2010 71 5.2: Comparison of annual average completions & household growth 2000-2010 83 5.3: Belfast Metropolitan HMA affordability ratios for 2/3 bedroom properties, 2009 84 5.4: Comparison of the cost of owning& private renting 95 6.1: Comparison of dwelling age of PRS dwelling in Belfast Metropolitan HMA & RNI, 2006 97 6.2: Private Rented Sector (PRS) household type, 2001 & 2006, Belfast Metropolitan HMA and RNI 106 6.3: PRS and all households banded income, 2006 (%) 108 6.4: Two bed rental affordability,