Average house prices

North Down �110,935 Lisburn �104,071 Mid and South Down �98,158 Belfast �91,798 Fermanagh/South Tyrone �85,415 North coast �79,952 East Antrim �78,472 Mid Ulster �75,620 Antrim/Ballymena �75,287 Londonderry/Strabane �73,261 Craigavon/Armagh �66,529

Loans to salary ratios are getting larger and with salaries in the province standing at 20% less than those in Britain, recent home buyers have less disposable income to spend after making their monthly mortgage repayment.

The report into house price trends for the fourth quarter of 2001 was prepared by the Centre for Research on Property and Planning at the University of Ulster in conjunction with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and sponsored by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

It reveals that while house prices continue to rise, the rate of increase is slowing down.

The weighted annual increase is now 4.17% compared with the equivalent quarter in 2000.

The highest rising sectors are in the detached house markets with average prices up by 8.51% to �141,338; semi-detached houses by 6.59% to �81,307; and semi-detached bungalows by 5.87% to �74,349.

Apartment sector

Detached bungalows rose by 3.59% to �115,250 and terraced homes by 2.52% to �63,537.

The report says the apartment sector continues to be more variable with average price influenced by the characteristics of particular development schemes, a number of which are now more clearly orientated towards the first time buyer.

The average price of an apartment is down over the year by 10.34% to �94,418, but this is a rise of 13.63% compared with third quarter figures.

The authors of the report, Professor Alastair Adair, Professor Stanley McGreal and Louise Brown highlighted that the current rate of price increase is significantly below comparable increases seen in recent years.

However they stressed that prices are still on an upward trend and at a rate above the increase in inflation in the overall economy.

Tom McClelland, a spokesman for the RICS, said demand is still strong from first-time buyers looking for homes below �75,000.

However with average prices now around �90,000, these buyers are being squeezed.

"With continuing low interest rates it seems likely that there will be further capital growth in 2002 but at a slower rate than previously," he said.