People have been flocking to the North in the past few years to cash-in on the property boom, but all this seems set to change. Prices there are falling and have been for the past five months.

A survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reported an average fall of 5 per cent in December by 82 per cent of surveyors. No one who took part reported a price rise. First-time buyers might breathe a sigh of relief after two years of extremely fast growth. In June 2006 the average house price was £153,868 (€204,165) but by September 2007 the average cost had shot up to £250,586 (€332,421).

Tom McClelland, RICS Northern Ireland spokesman, said the last few months had been difficult for the market as many buyers had taken a "wait and see" approach. The head of mortgages at Ulster Bank Derek Wilson predicted "that first-time buyers will become increasingly active now that asking prices are considered to be more realistic".