Soaring house prices hit incomes

Rocketing house prices and soaring mortgage payments are taking their toll on disposable incomes in NI, a new economic survey suggests.

The report was produced by consultancy firm Price Waterhouse Coopers.

NI's average monthly mortgage repayments are now 150% of average weekly take-home pay - almost twice the level of a decade ago, it said.

Ten years ago, the average house cost about four times annual earnings, but it is now more than nine times.

Householders are facing a financial squeeze, with domestic rates going up, along with utility bills, the survey said.

With rising petrol prices and higher interest rates, there is far less cash to spend on other goods and services.