An increase in house sales and a decline in the pace of price falls may suggest the property market is beginning to stabilise in the North, according to a new survey to be published today.

The latest University of Ulster quarterly house price index shows a slight 0.5 per cent drop in the average price of a house in the North to £158,886.

It also points to a jump in the volume of housing sales, which rose to 950 between April and June, as a strong indication the market may be levelling out in the North.