House prices in Northern Ireland are continuing to fall and some are down to the same level they were in early 2006, a new housing survey revealed today.
Eighty per cent of chartered surveyors reported falling prices in May, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Ulster Bank sponsored study - only a fractional improvement on the previous month.
Few sales were taking place as buyers waited for the market to bottom out.
However it was not all doom and gloom with 20 per cent of RICS members reporting prices holding steady - 4 per cent up on four weeks earlier.
There was also a marginal improvement in sentiment among surveyors.
Tom McClelland, the RICS Northern Ireland housing spokesman said: “Overall the small volume of sales activity remains a major issue and will only improve significantly whenever potential buyers feel confident that the bottom of the market has been reached.”
However, he added: “Asking prices at the lower end have been cut significantly and in some areas are now at levels witnessed in early 2006, so some potential buyers may feel that the bottom is not too far away.”
The RICS said 28 per cent of respondents to their survey reported price drops of 5 per cent or more in May; 23 per cent said the drop was between 2 per cent and 5 per cent; 29 per cent said the drop was between 0 per cent and 2 per cent - while 20 per cent said they remained the same.
PA