After all the lockdowns that Covid-19 brought with it, Northern Ireland is slowly but surely opening back up. One thing you’re sure to see in the news nearly every day now is a story about redevelopment.
Whether it’s city centre shopping or rural housing schemes, redevelopment is everywhere. Development went through a period of… well, nothing. A period where the world really did grind to a halt. But, as our economy reopens, we’re seeing more activity than ever.
But redevelopment isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It affects every part of our communities. Yes, there’s the buildings themselves, but there’s also the job it creates, the communities it supports. And, there’s also the bonus that redevelopment brings with it – investment.
Redevelopment really has a domino effect. Once it happens, the people around it start to see the potential for that area, in a new way they hadn’t before. It only takes one small project, and you have the butterfly effect in full force.
Once one small part of redevelopment happens in a village, town or city, the whole area sees the benefits too. More parks. More shops. Better infrastructure. Take Belfast’s Titanic Quarter for example.
Then there’s the jobs that are created by redevelopment too, from planners, architects through to construction and fit-out companies.
Another great example is the recent redevelopment announcement at Bangor’s seafront. It truly is a complete mix of commercial, residential and public realm growth. The project will no doubt mean great things for long term employment in the area.
You might ask, what does that news do for house prices in the area? Well, again, it can only be good news. Potential investors, and even homeowners who have no plans to move anytime soon, will now have their interests sparked. Local house prices will no doubt see the benefits.
Bangor isn’t an anomaly. Savvy investors will always follow the news for development plans in towns and cities, knowing that as soon as soon as planning for major upgrades in the area is approved, they’ll be able to move quickly on purchasing in the area. For that reason, even if redevelopment in an area is years away, you can expect to see an increase in local property prices even before they’ve broke soil.
Due to the ongoing supply and demand issue for homes in Northern Ireland, we’d also imagine that rent prices, just like sale prices, would increase in an area where redevelopment is marked for the future.
A final example is that of the so-called Tribeca area in Belfast city centre. House prices at around £70K shot up to £95,000 once plans for the university in the area were agreed. The space has become more gentrified and we’re seeing more trendy cafes, bars and restaurants emerge.
The amount of redevelopment required to see house prices in an area rise doesn’t need to be colossal – it could be a small rural village getting planning permission granted for a new state of the art school. It could be a new hospital that will have staff who need homes in the area. Or it could even be a new big Tesco.
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