More houses at the bottom of Northern Ireland’s depressed property market are being sold because of reduced prices, a survey said.
The fall in the cost of more expensive houses is continuing, but the number of sales is on the increase, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors added.
Northern Ireland surveyors are split between those who say house prices are falling and those who say they are stable, their report for July said.
Institute spokesman Tom McClelland said: “What has become more and more evident is that there is significant variation in the market.
“For the large part, prices at the bottom end appear to have reached a level that seems sustainable and at which people are prepared to buy. However, the correction in prices further up the market is continuing.
“The rise in transaction volumes in this context has not been surprising, particularly as sales levels have been coming from very low levels.”
Almost 90 per cent of surveyors asked said the number of house sales in the past three months was up or remained the same. Experts expect the trend to continue.
Derek Wilson, head of lending products at Ulster Bank, said: “It is encouraging to see the modest increases in transaction levels being reported which suggests increasing confidence on the part of prospective purchasers.
Yesterday, finance minister Sammy Wilson hosted a meeting of business leaders and trade unionists to discuss the impact of the world economic problems on Northern Ireland.
Stock markets across Europe have been in turmoil over the deepening economic woes of Italy and Spain as well as ongoing difficulties in the Republic, Greece and Portugal.
PA