Northern Ireland · report
Empty homes in Northern Ireland
6.4% of the 821,060 homes counted in the 2021 census had nobody usually living in them.
- Empty, 2021 census
- 6.4%
- Empty homes
- 52,250
Where homes stand empty in Northern Ireland
Share of homes standing empty at the 2021 census, emptiest first.
In England and Wales the census counts a dwelling as vacant when nobody usually lives in it and it is not a second home, checked against council tax and other records. Northern Ireland counts household spaces with no usual residents, second homes included, so its share reads higher. Scotland's 2022 census did not count empty homes. The next census is in 2031.
Other reports for Northern Ireland
At the average sale price, a home costs £202,487. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is £934 a month. The UK sets no cap on the payment; no more than 15% of new mortgages may lend over 4.5 times income.
- Payment, two incomes
- 15%
- Payment, one income
- 30%
Figures for United Kingdom: Northern Ireland has no reliable figures of its own.
Owning the average home costs less each month than renting it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is the average of all private tenancies. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.
- Rent per month
- £1,406
- Owning per month
- £1,286
20.4% fewer homes were started in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.
- Started, 12 months
- 5,539
- Per 1,000 residents
- 2.9
Figures for United Kingdom: Northern Ireland has no reliable figures of its own.
Buyers living abroad bought 1.8% of the homes sold here in the four quarters to Q1 2025.
- Bought by buyers abroad, 12 months
- 1.8%
Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more once since 2005. That fall began in Q3 2007.
- Deepest fall
- −56.6%
- Recovery from the low
- Not yet
In 2025 the population grew by 677 while 5,843 homes were finished: 0.1 new residents for every new home.
- New residents per new home, 2025
- 0.1
- Population change, 2025
- +677