Rise in House Prices – On This Day in 1974

July 9 1974

The prices of new houses and flats in Northern Ireland increased on the average by four per cent in the second quarter of 1974, while in Britain the prices of new properties increased on the average by only two per cent.

This is revealed in the index published today by the Nationwide Building Society, which has 14 offices in the north.

The prices of modern second-hand properties here had remained steady in conformity with those in Britain, while other properties increased in price by 10 per cent as against two per cent in Britain.

The average price of new houses and flats on which loans were approved by the society in the second quarter of 1974 was £7,430 in Northern Ireland, compared with an average of £10,200 for the United Kingdom.

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The average value of a site, at £1,193, represented 16.1 per cent of the average price compared with the UK average of 26.3 per cent.

The average price of modern second-hand properties was £7,622 (£10,533 for the UK), while older properties cost on average £7,074 (£9,240 for the UK).

Over the last five years the prices of properties in Northern Ireland have risen less rapidly than in Britain. The prices of new properties increased on average by 71 per cent, compared with an increase of 123 per cent for Britain. The prices of modern second-hand properties increased by 80 per cent (113 per cent for Britain) and older properties increased in price by 111 per cent (121 per cent for Great Britain) over the same period.

While not increasing at the same rate as Britain, there still was a sharp increase in the prices of properties in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1974.

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Half-Price Beef for Pensioners

The European Common Market’s farm commissioner in Strasbourg yesterday announced a major package of measures to end the glut of beef in the community, which will include selling it at half-price to old-age pensioners.

Another measure, agreed by the community’s executive commission and announced to the European parliament, is subsidised sales to hospitals and other institutions.

To reduce the “Beef Mountain”, similar to the “Butter Mountain” and the “Milk Lake”, the EEC offered beef products at discounted prices to different groups, such as old-age pensioners.