Private Finance boosts house building

Minister for Social Development Nigel Dodds has praised the financial services industry at the Council of Mortgage Lenders' annual lunch in the Culloden Hotel today.

The Minister told delegates that the financial services industry had provided almost £100 million of investment and helped create 30% more housing in the past three years. He added that private finance continues to play a vital role in housing across all sectors and tenures and its contribution "cannot be understated".

Mr Dodds said: “Private finance totaling almost £100 million over the past three years has allowed us to provide considerably more new homes for rent– around 30% – than we could have ever have done using public sector alone. This plays a vital role in our housing effort and towards our objective of providing safe, high-quality homes for all.

The Minister said that affordability is key to the housing market, and whilst Northern Ireland may have had affordable housing five years ago, that was no longer the case.

"There have already been two assembly debates on the subject (of affordability). For many years we had some of the most affordable housing in the United Kingdom but this situation has changed dramatically in the last five years.”

The Minister explained that in recognition of this he had, in the last financial year, made additional funding of approximately £5 million available to meet growing demand for co-ownership. The Co-ownership Scheme was designed to provide an opportunity for low-income families to become homeowners through an equity-sharing scheme.

Mr Dodds also paid tribute to the way in which the financial services industry has become more customer orientated.

The Minister said: “The financial services industry has shown clearly its ability to react to the changing demands of borrowers and provide them with a flexible product tailored to meet their individual needs and ever-changing circumstances.

For this reason many young couples, who might have thought that home ownership was not possible for them, are now finding that finance packages are available which suit their personal situation.”

(GMcG)