8 September 2026
SDLP Opposition Housing Spokesperson Mark H Durkan has warned that homeownership is becoming a pipe dream for an entire generation, particularly in the North West, as rising house prices, soaring rents and household bills make it increasingly difficult for working people to save for a deposit.
Mr Durkan said young people and working families are being denied the security that comes with having a home of their own. It follows reports that the average house price in Northern Ireland has reached £202,000.
Mark H Durkan MLA said:
"Homeownership is becoming further and further out of reach for the next generation, especially for those living in the North West. Owning their own home is no longer an aspiration they can realistically plan for.
"It’s a pretty dystopian situation, whereby young people and families can see no future in the place they call home, particularly in Derry where wages remain low and they cannot afford to lay foundations, build their lives and enjoy the security that comes with homeownership.
"For example, according to NISRA, the median sale price of a home in the Drumahoe area of Derry was around £100,000 in 2016. By 2025, that figure had risen to £193,000, almost doubling in less than a decade.
"You can give up the coffees, cut back on nights out and make every saving possible but when you are facing rent of up to £1,000 a month, alongside food, fuel and other household bills, and are barely keeping afloat, how on earth are people expected to save tens of thousands of pounds for a deposit? There is an entire generation now facing the prospect of living with their parents well into their thirties or remaining in a private rental market where costs continue to rise.
"The generations coming behind us have every right to feel let down. The Executive, when we've had one, has failed to build enough homes, provide the infrastructure necessary to unlock housing supply or create stability within the private rented sector.
"We need to stop accepting that this is simply how things are. The Executive has talked for years about its Housing Supply Strategy and the ambition to deliver 100,000 homes by 2039. But we’re nowhere near that target. Housebuilding is at a generational low, social housing waiting lists remain enormous and rents have never been higher.
"The Executive needs to focus on reforming the planning system, establishing a legal duty to cooperate between public bodies on homelessness prevention and addressing wastewater infrastructure constraints to improve housing supply. Doing nothing will consign another generation to years on housing waiting lists and insecure private rentals. We need to put measures in place that will make homeownership the norm for the many, not the few, and allow people to put down roots."