Areas of North see house prices down 60% from peak

House prices in parts of the North fell 60% from their peak, a market survey said today.

However the number of sales this year increased, with first-time buyers and investors attracted by the dramatic reductions, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) added.

Prices peaked in summer 2007 with frenzied bidding wars fuelled by cheap credit. However, prices plummeted due to the difficult economic environment and more cautious lending.

Rics spokesman Tom McClelland said: “There is no doubt that the public spending environment and the prospect of large cuts to come will impact significantly on Northern Ireland’s public sector-dependent economy. And there is no doubt that this has implications for the housing market.”

Around 39% of chartered surveyors questioned are still reporting falling prices, according to the report paid for by Ulster Bank, with 51% reporting prices remaining the same and just 10% saying they are rising.

However, other parts of the UK like the West and East Midlands are now showing more surveyors reporting falling prices than in the North.