https://armaghi.com/news/northern-ireland-population-growth-hits-the-brakes-as-more-people-leave-than-arrive/312204

Northern Ireland’s population has all but flat‑lined over the past year – with new official figures showing growth of just 600 people across the entire region.

Fresh estimates from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), released today (Thursday), put the population at 1.93 million as of June 30, 2025. That’s an increase of just 0.03% – a dramatic slowdown compared with recent years.

In the year to mid‑2023 the population rose by 0.5% (9,800 people), followed by 0.4% (7,500 people) in the year to mid‑2024.

Now growth has almost stalled – and for the first time in several years, more people are leaving Northern Ireland than coming in.

Net migration is now negative. In the year to mid‑2025, Northern Ireland lost an estimated 800 people through migration, with 23,400 people moving here and 24,100 leaving. Just a year earlier, migration was adding 5,800 people to the population.

Net gain from abroad has plunged from 6,000 to 1,900. International arrivals fell by 28.3% (from 16,900 to 12,100) while departures abroad dropped slightly, from 10,900 to 10,200.

Natural change – the difference between births and deaths – is still nudging Northern Ireland’s population upwards, but far less than before. In the year to mid‑2025 it added just 1,400 people, down from 1,900 the previous year. That reflects a drop in both births and deaths, with the number of babies born falling by 700, from 19,800 to 19,100, while deaths decreased by 200, from 17,900 to 17,600.

At the same time, the population is getting noticeably older. The median age has climbed to 40.6 years, compared to 38.2 in 2015. Those aged 65 and over now account for 18.5% of the population – around 356,500 people – while children under 16 make up 19.6% (378,800). That is a stark shift from the position in 2000, when almost a quarter of the population (24.0%) were under 16 and just 13.1% were aged 65 or over.

The sharpest growth is at the very oldest ages. The number of people aged 85 and over has jumped by 24% since 2015, reaching 43,800 – growing six times faster than the overall population over the same period. Women dominate this age bracket, making up nearly two‑thirds (62.7%). And there are now an estimated 312 centenarians living in Northern Ireland, the equivalent of roughly two people aged 100 or more for every 10,000 residents.

Northern Ireland’s demographic slowdown comes as population growth eases across much of the UK – but it stands in marked contrast to what is happening south of the border.

The Republic of Ireland continues to surge ahead: its population rose to 5.46 million in the year to April 2025, an annual increase of 1.5% – or 78,300 people – vastly outpacing Northern Ireland’s 0.03%, and even the 0.4% growth recorded here just a year earlier.

Beneath the national headline figures, population change is far from uniform across Northern Ireland’s 11 council areas.

Over the past year, four districts recorded population growth, four saw decline and three remained broadly stable. Lisburn and Castlereagh was the fastest‑growing council area, with its population rising by 0.5% in the year to mid‑2025. Mid Ulster experienced the sharpest fall, with a 0.3% decrease. Fermanagh and Omagh, Ards and North Down, and Mid and East Antrim all saw relatively little movement over the year.

Taking the longer view from 2015 to 2025, almost every district has grown. Lisburn and Castlereagh again tops the table, with its population up 8.1% over the decade. Causeway Coast and Glens is the notable exception, recording a slight overall decline of 0.2%.

Plush home of disgraced ex-DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson on market for £650k | Belfast Telegraph

The Co Down house that former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson co-owns with his wife Eleanor, and where they lived until his conviction, has gone on the market for nearly £650,000.

The four-bedroom property near Dromore, Co Down, is described by estate agents as a “substantial detached country home”.

It is where the couple were arrested by PSNI Public Protection officers in a dawn swoop - marking the end of Donaldson’s political career.

Today Donaldson is held for his own safety in a former supergrass cell in the medical wing of Maghaberry Prison, around 12 miles from the Dublinhill Road house.

The couple bought the property 23 years ago for £380,000. It is now on the market for £649,950.

In a previous interview, Donaldson said the couple had chosen the property largely for its view of the Mourne Mountains where he grew up, and that the outlook reminded him of his childhood home in Kilkeel.

He said his study was his favourite room.

“When this place became available it was just what we were looking for,” explained Donaldson in 2017. “I could actually see the Mourne Mountains and that always reminds me of home.

“I chose this room for my study because it has a great view over the countryside and I knew it was somewhere I could relax and think, away from the humdrum political life and the busyness of Westminster.”

The view is one of the main selling points in the agent’s brochure.

The 315 square metre (3,390 sq ft) house sits on a landscaped site with a south-facing rear garden, and the brochure describes “beautiful, uninterrupted views” of the Mournes.

Behind electric gates and a tarmac driveway, the house opens onto an entrance hall with reclaimed pitch pine flooring and a twin flight staircase that rises to a curved, spindled gallery on the landing.

Reception space is generous. There is a 26ft lounge with a marble and granite fireplace, a dining hall with patio doors to the garden, a family room with a vaulted ceiling and a sun room under a pitch pine roof.

Inside Jeffrey Donaldson's former home © Robert Wilson Estate Agents

The kitchen is a traditional Maple design with granite worktops, a central island with a breakfast bar, a Belfast sink and a cream oil-fired Aga set into an antique-effect brick chimney recess.

Upstairs are three bedrooms, including a main bedroom with en-suite, along with a family bathroom and the first-floor study, where a floor-to-ceiling window looks out towards the mountains. A fourth guest bedroom sits above the rear of the house and is reached by its own separate staircase from the rear hall.

Outside, an integral double garage, paved patios and a secluded barbecue area are reached by granite steps.

There is little inside the home to identify the couple selling it.

All but one personal photograph have been removed. Among what remains are three Fortnum and Mason hampers, a plaque in the sitting room which reads “Giving Him Thanks For Everything”, and a set of Bibles on either side of the bed in the main bedroom.

In Donaldson’s first-floor study, a large notice remains on the bookcase. It reads: “Riff Raff Only”.

The property is for sale with Robert Wilson Estate Agents, Moira.

A charge was registered with the Land Registry against Jeffrey Donaldson’s interest in the property on May 27, the day after his trial opened.

The charge was lodged by Anderson Gillan Barr, a Coleraine-based firm of solicitors. According to Law Society records, the firm now includes the Banbridge practice of John McBurney, Donaldson’s long-time solicitor.

Inside Jeffrey Donaldson's former home © Robert Wilson Estate Agents

The charge applies only to Donaldson’s half of the jointly owned property. Eleanor Donaldson’s share is not affected.

The Donaldsons were arrested at the home on March 28, 2024.

After they were charged, bail conditions kept them apart for a month. During that time Eleanor Donaldson lived at the house alone, while the former MP moved into a rented flat in London.

On June 22, 2026, he left the house for the last time. Having deliberated for nine hours and 40 minutes over three days, the jury of seven men and five women unanimously finding him guilty of all 18 counts of child sex abuse he faced, including the rape of a child.

Jeffrey Donaldson at home relaxing in his favourite room at his house in Dromore in 2017.  © Pacemaker Press

Over a series of days in the dock, Donaldson had written a speech he planned to deliver to the media outside court if found not guilty of all charges. It stated that he was going home with Eleanor. It did not happen.

In a trial of the facts, a jury found that Eleanor Donaldson had aided and abetted him in four of his offences, and that she had committed a further offence she alone faced.

He is due to be sentenced in October. His lawyers have said he will appeal his conviction. Another date of Friday, November 13 has been set to discuss how Eleanor will be dealt with.

I specifically want to know if Jeffrey Donaldson is likely to be in his own cell, a shared cell, amongst a general population or in a wee protected wing for pedos and such.

It's my firm hope that he suffers

I was reading up on house prices here, I can't believe that even today we are not close to housing prices in 2007-08

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This is absolutely mad. Adjust for inflation - the average house in 2007 cost £370k in today's money? Is this even correct? Today it is 200k

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I do get this was peak bubble / credit crunch era but surely the rest of the UK/Ireland didn't see the same extremes?

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Imagine buying a house then and then the entire market exploding the next year.

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Im surprised I didn't know about this before, really shocking

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I’m 38 years old and have lived in the North Coast area for most of my life. Granted, I’ve had a 8 year lease in my current house with only 2 rent increases so I’ve lived in a rent-price-bubble, but my landlord wants to sell so I’m browsing potential properties to move to.

Why on earth are houses in the Portrush, Portstewart, Coleraine, Ballymoney area letting for similar prices to Belfast? I’d understand if they were lovely properties with a view of the sea, but we’re taking mid-terrace in a residential area for £900-1200 per month. Maybe there’s an argument to make that they’re scenic, tourist areas so there’s some appeal there, but if you’ve ever lived in those tourist towns you know the benefits of being a 5 minute drive from the beach are massively outweighed by the hindrance of having to actually tolerate the traffic, price hiking, crowds, litter, etc. during tourist season. And if you have to travel within the triangle area during NW200 weekend, airshow, bank holidays you may leave 2 hours before you need to arrive.

And it’s not even the tourist towns, it’s surrounding areas. There’s absolutely nothing in Coleraine or Ballymoney to justify £1000 rent for a 3 bedroom semi detached house with concrete garden.

Why are the letting agents allowing this? I also think it’s worth pointing out that the LHA (local housing allowance rate for those claiming UC or disability benefits) in this area is £580 for 3 bed. So a family on low income or with a disabled person have to potentially find an additional £400-500 from somewhere just to afford a roof over their heads? Why is the discrepancy so wide?

Social housing has year long wait periods, rent is extortionate and unaffordable. What are low income people supposed to do? Or even relatively well off people, even with a monthly income of £3000, people are expected to pay a third of that on rent alone? I know so many professional people now facing employment insecurity in sectors like finance, IT, even healthcare, the job market is scarce and people are struggling. Yet all home owners in this area decided to collectively double their rent prices in the last 5 years?

It’s sad the amount of homeless people that i see are still sleeping on the streets with no home or anywhere to go to I saw one person today sleeping on a bench with their head hanging off the back of it I also see people sleeping inside doorways of shops and banks it’s a disgrace that the council or the government doesn’t do anything about this I also saw two people sitting outside castle court bear foot sitting on flattened boxes something needs to be done about this it is an absolute disgrace

So my wife and I started searching for a house to buy back in February, in March we went sale agreed on a lovely 3 bedroom 2 bath. The original move in date was August, in July the seller pushed things back to September which was slightly troublesome but we told them we could make it work. The seller wouldn't sign contracts though until closer to completion which we were told is normal. Now in August they backed out completely which left us looking for a new house.

Now we have found a great house for 250k (after a bit of a bidding war), the inspection however uncovered about 40k in urgent repairs. We've sent inspections and quotes to the estate agent and just learned the seller won't negotiate the price down. I know it's a sellers market at the moment but I just find this a bit absurd. We aren't asking for 40k off the price, we asked if they would split the difference and it was a flat no and if we don't like it they can just put the house back on the market.

The 40k also isn't for all repairs needed, just the urgent ones.

Now im not from Northern Ireland but I have bought a house before and this just all seems so crazy. Does the seller really believe someone else will buy the house as is with that much in needed repairs and not negotiate the price down? Just to add none of the issues (accept one leak) were visible during the viewing.

Update: the first house is still on the market with no offers. Feeling pretty good about it after being dragged along for months. About to close on the new house. After a couple more surveys the needed repairs have dropped down to about 20ish k and the sellers took the cost of removing the asbestos that was found off of the purchase price. So really only need to cover about 13k in repairs. Still hate this system but feeling better about the finances of this new house went

Back in November I was blessed enough to be granted with new neighbours, four adults and three children. Since they have moved in not one bin, black blue or green, has been put out for collection.

Should I be worried where all their household rubbish is going particularly the food waste?

Hi everyone, looking for a bit of a reality check. My partner and I are First-time Buyers with a £340k AIP and a £25k deposit. We’re trying to stay sensible and keep our budget around £220k–£240k.

We’ve been targeting Newtownabbey, but it’s been brutal. We’re seeing houses go £40k+ over valuation, and with our 10% deposit, unfortunately we just can't compete with those covering huge down-valuations.

We need a "Plan B." We’re looking for somewhere, We are open in terms of any location that's:

• Commutable: Within 20–30 mins of Belfast.
• We need somewhere truly neutral, mixed, and welcoming. We’ve had suggestions for new builds in Ballyclare, but as a Catholic couple, we’re slightly concerned about that area.
• Budget: Up to £240k (but hoping for less of a bidding war).

Where is currently "overlooked" or further down the line that offers better value for money? Any advice would be huge!

Rental properties in Belfast keep hitting new lows. Simon Brien lettings advertising this ‘bright studio apartment located on the treelined Myrtleville Park in south Belfast. Suitable for individuals or couples’ for the extortionate price of £800 a month 🙃

Yes or no what do people think?

Hi all I am a first time buyer in Belfast and I was just wondering if there was any other things I should be budgeting for before going through with my purchase

I am currently budgeting the following:

Day One costs such as Furniture ,appliances,wifi etc = £2000

Legal Fees= £1500

Mortgage fee=£400

Survey costs=£1000

Valuation fee = £300

Moving fees= £1500

I have 3 months of estimated living expenses set aside as an emergency fund also. Does everyone think these values are good? Also if anyone has any recommendations for solictors ,mortage brokers etc that would be great too

Found outside Queens. If any Indians / Pakistanis have a Bangladeshi mate you're in luck.

Seeing some of the prices of ex council houses in protestant / loyalist areas that tend to be tens of thousands cheaper than Catholic/ republican areas or mixed. I would prefer mixed over either. Seriously considering bidding on a house in a small protestant estate. I really don't care about any of that stuff but a bit nervous in case others care about me and my family being there. I know it only takes one family / person to make things uncomfortable for us. We would keep ourselves to ourselves but would be using the gardens for kids to play in and kids attend bunscoil.

Has anyone made the jump or anyone live in these areas could shed light on how it is to live there?

Short version: Catholic/ irish speaking family considering some of the smaller traditionally protestant estates (blacks road, milltown)

We just moved into our rental and the property manager sent over the inventory with a note that said the property was professionally cleaned and rated 5 stars for cleanliness. I’d hate to see what anything less than 5 stars would look like.

Paper towels were from the windows above the doors. Yellow cloth was from just one corner of the tiled bathroom walls. Old nicotine residue is EVERYWHERE.

Tis a landlord market alright.

A few people were asking for an analysis/breakdown in some of the recent posts asking about solar so I thought I'd put it in a post for reference. This is my experience with a new Sigenergy system that's been in place for a year in Co. Armagh on a fairly S facing roof with no shade with 16 panels (the max without planning) and a 10KW battery.

I now have the data to estimate I will probably get around 5MWh of electricity per year.

So that's £1600 worth of electricity per year at the current ShareEnergy price of just over 30p/kWh exVAT (at 5% for domestic users or just under 32p total), or approximately £133/month assuming you use it all and don't export. We export quite a bit in summer (about 20% of the total generation).

I used a £10,000 loan at 6% interest (what I got, rates will be a bit higher now - maybe 6.8% or so for best on MSE), the loan payment is about £200/month. A loan <£10K may attract a higher interest rate, so you're probably better taking £10k vs £9K and I used the money for some "extras" which may or may not be good value.

So in that respect, the net cost to you would be about £66.6 per month to have a 5 year loan to pay for the system. You'll have a net increase in your costs of £4,000 at year 5 (of which about £1500 is interest).

At year 5 with no loan to pay back, the system will then "pay you back" at a rate of £120/month so the total system will then come to cost neutrality at about year 7.8 but keep in mind that the only amount YOU had to pay out of YOUR pocket over your normal energy cost was the £4,000 at £66.60/month on average (mostly in the winter), the rest (the £7,500 balance of the loan)was paid back by the sun and you just allocated money that you are not paying NIE, ShareEnergy or Airtricity to the bank.

My bills are standing charge only in summer, and £100-£140 in mid winter.

Without a loan, the system would pay back your £9K investment (as you wouldn't take £10K) in 6.5years.

From that point on you can consider that the system will generate you the full £1600/year in savings.

A few assumptions:

Price of electricity remaining constant.

A huge one.... You are able to use all of your generated electricity. I only use about 80% of what I generate and what you get back from the grid is a pittiance, so I use about 85% return which means I probably won't see cost neutrality until Y9 or so. You can capture more if you have a bigger battery system (which probably doesn't make financial sense as they're £2500 each) or an electric car you can charge.

Loan rate at 6% (may be slightly more now)

Fairly optimal orientation.

So for me, the big consideration is: How long do you plan on owning your home. If it's a family home, and your children will fight over who gets it when they put you in the nearest fold, then it's probably worth it. If it's your 2U/2D terrace starter home and you plan to move on in a few years, probably not.

One last consideration... how do you plan to use the savings? Once paid, you have removed an obligate expense from your balance sheet. That's a expense you don't have a choice about that you pay from your TAXED income. If you are a saver, and can put that extra money into a tax efficient vehicle like an ISA to save, then your £1600/yr can actually be more like >£2000.

Another consideration for us is that we plan to retire as soon as is practicable, and for me the bigger thing is that this cost offset is like getting £120/month extra on our retirement income.

Edited: For typos, emphasis and bad grammar

Taken from the Holylands Spotted IG page. Be careful out there.

We completed less than a month ago and unfortunately the experience since has been really disappointing.

Parts of the house were handed over unfinished, there was damage in a number of areas and we’ve had to chase quite a few snagging issues already.

Now, only a few weeks later, contractors have come back to carry out remedial kerb works, dug up a large section of the lawn we’ve spent weeks trying to establish, and left it like this overnight without any prior notice.

I completely understand remedial work sometimes has to be done, but the overall handover and communication has been really poor and it often feels like the house was completed before it was actually ready.

Sharing this purely so anyone considering buying with Lagan can factor in our experience.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vq3135p32o

Patrick Fee

Business correspondent, BBC News NI

Over eight years and five different flats, one thing in Ryan Hoey's life has been constant - his rent keeps going up.

In Belfast, rent prices are growing faster than in any other UK city.

"It doesn't surprise me – I think I've seen it in places I've rented before. Those rises have been quite extortionate, in terms of the rate of increase," he said.

Hoey recently noticed that a south Belfast apartment is charging £800 a month today, compared to the £550 he paid when living there in 2021.

By how much have rents increased?

Rents across Northern Ireland have surged over the past five years in every council area, by an average of 51%.

PropertyPal's Chief Executive Jordan Buchanan shared his sites pricing and listing data over that period.

The average property now costs an extra £335 per month.

"In early 2020, the average rent in Northern Ireland was around £650. At the end of 2025 that's grown to nearly £1,000," Buchanan said.

There are examples across Northern Ireland.

A two-bedroom ground floor apartment, off Belfast's Lisburn Road, was listed for £875 per month in 2021, £1,050 in 2023 and £1,350 last month.

Can renters afford the rises?

Although inflation has seen a general rise in prices and wages, the pace of rent increases has far outstripped that.

People are now spending a larger portion of their income on rent than ever before - from 27.6% in 2020 to about 32.2% now.

"When you look at what has been happening to incomes over that same period, they've increased by around 30%," Buchanan said.

"That gap ultimately means tenants have had to spend more just to service their rental commitments.

"It's not sustainable in terms of the price dynamic."

Image caption,

Martin Haran says affordability is a particular challenge for Belfast

Martin Haran, a professor of Real Estate and Urban Studies at Ulster University, says affordability is a particular challenge for Belfast.

"Over the last 12 months you've seen a 9.6% increase in the Belfast market – it's the most pronounced of any part of Northern Ireland."

Rents in the city are approaching an average cost of £1,100 per month, with more than 40% already higher than this.

When asked if the rental market is broken, he doesn't disagree.

"It needs structural change. It needs reformation. The imbalance between supply and demand is not sustainable."

Why are rents rising so fast?

Image caption,

Jordan Buchanan from PropertyPal said housing supply was at "a multi-decade low"

Buchanan says the answer is simple.

"Supply is the root cause of a lot of these issues, not just in the rental sector this is across the whole housing system," he said.

"Housing supply is at a multi-decade low and that has fed through into the rental sector."

Northern Ireland needs more housing overall, but the rental sector is in particular difficulty. Over the past five years, the number of available rental properties has fallen.

PropertyPal data shows the number of available rental properties is 10% lower than it was pre-Covid.

A lot of that is due to properties being sold instead of rented, but the rise of short-term lets like AirBnB have also played a role.

How many people are competing for each property?

Supply is only part of the story. Although there are fewer properties, demand for rental properties continues to increase.

In the past five years, the average number of enquiries per rental listing across Northern Ireland has gone up by 33%.

A rental property in Derry City and Strabane council area now receives an average of 80 people enquiring, up 79% in five years.

Hoey has seen that change in his own property searches.

"There is a certain pressure put on people looking for a place. Get your application in as quick as possible," he said.

"Particularly if you need to find a place fairly quickly, to just sign up and pay whatever, just to get a roof over your head."

What would help with rising rent?

Buchanan says the solution is more rental properties.

"We need to not just replace that supply, we need to be adding more to that, so that needs more investment into Northern Ireland."

With around 50,000 people on the social housing waiting list, the experts agree more of this type of housing is essential.

Professor Haran says the extent of that waiting list is also pushing more people into private rentals, increasing competition in the sector.

Northern Ireland's first build-to-rent apartments are due to be completed later this year.

The development has had its critics, but it'll add around 750 properties to the market, 630 of those purpose built high end rentals.

Buchanan says its an important addition.

"That's going to be a massive supply injection into what is a seriously constrained sector."

Professor Haran agrees – but with some caveats.

"People will probably roll their eyes a little bit and say that's targeting a certain section of the market but in my opinion, that would probably ease pressures.

"We need that professional build to rent product. Institutional investment, capital coming into Belfast.

"But if you look at Dublin, just because institutional investors come in and provide build to rent it doesn't necessarily always improve affordability. That's where policy and planning frameworks need to be carefully considered to give us a more affordable rental market."

It's a problem without easy answers. With rents still rising, energy bills soaring and general inflation ticking up once more – the news for renters isn't good.

Hoey does his best to see the positives.

"In some senses it is a positive that people are moving to Belfast, it is a place on the up. The supply of housing just isn't keeping pace with that demand."

I know the answer is that the executive are frankly not able to lift a pen never mind actually write a policy with one but seriously...

Solar PV grants available in the Republic, England and Wales. I didn't check Scotland.

Heat pump grants available in the Republic, England and Wales. Didn't check Scotland.

Why are they not available here too? I can't afford them without assistance but with assistance I could probably get a loan out them both in and actually go to a net zero heating bill in a few years after pay back time. Maybe even get a small income if I can get enough panels. Remember price of oil and gas are going up they are getting scarcer but the Sun isn't.

Very frustrating.

Specifically looking at south and west but I’m sure the rest aren’t too much better. It’s not even that the properties are crazy expensive but they’re also shit.

If you’re single and not willing to pay 1500 a month for a two bedroom, unless you get lucky you’re likely living in a shit hole. Why is there no basic decent accommodation to rent?

Would be interested to hear people’s thoughts on this.

I know there’s a push for social housing and there’s been a few apartments going up in the town. But it seems like there’s nothing decent at all available for single people not on big money yet.

How is anyone expected to start their lives in this environment? Young people are basically being pushed into two options: stay with their parents for years longer than they’d like, which can make independence and relationships difficult, or spend a huge proportion of their income on a poor-quality rental and have very little left over to actually enjoy life or save for a home.
There needs to be more decent, affordable accommodation for single working people who aren’t eligible for social housing but also aren’t earning enough to comfortably absorb £1,500+ rent.

Surely something has to give. I know globally prices are sky high but it’s also just the level of quality of the properties. I wouldn’t put my dog in most of them.

Anyone on here live in Belfast City Centre in an apartment? I’m curious to know what it’s like, the lifestyle, pros & cons vs a house etc.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from those that have mortgages, people who are more committed compared to renting.

What are noise levels like, both inside and outside?
What is the lifestyle like, do you enjoy the nightlife living in a city?
Purpose on living in the city centre, for example is it for work?

For context, I’m debating purchasing an apartment in the city centre. I’m fortunate enough to have a career that is taking off but I have to be in the office 5 days a week which is close to the city centre.

It would dramatically cut down my current 1hr 15 min commute and I believe taking on a mortgage would be better than renting from a financial perspective.

Does anyone have photos from inside?

Hi folks, hope you’re enjoying the enthralling football match. I’m from the north coast area and would like to move closer to Belfast for work as the 1.5hr commute isn’t great craic especially when the Derry train line is as unreliable as it is. I don’t really want to live in Belfast, tho I’m open to the idea of a nice suburban area as I’ve only lived in south belfast for uni. Would ideally like a commute under 45 minutes. Also needs to be a cheap enough area can’t be affording a house on the Malone Road!! Cheers