News that property values are on the rise in parts of Great Britain has been revealed at the same time as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors commented that Northern Ireland's housing market is "particularly vulnerable" in the face of the looming public sector cuts.

The organisation's Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn said: "There is no doubt that the sort of plans that have been outlined will have some impact on the housing market.

"Our indicators suggest that Northern Ireland stands out as being particularly vulnerable, as do Wales, the Northeast, and the Midlands," he said, in an interview with the Bloomberg news agency.

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He was commenting on the way that NI experienced a huge rise in house prices earlier this decade, but now the market has crashed.

In some areas and sectors prices are thought to have come down as much as 60% from their peak.

Meanwhile, official figures showed today that the number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million has increased by 67% between May 2009 and May 2010 - from 255 to 426.

Overall property sales are also rising with the most up-to-date figures available showing that during May, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales rose by 8% to 49,412 from 45,814 in May 2009.

It also appears that property values have stabilised and last month even showed a small rise - with London houses topping the poll.

The July data from Land Registry's flagship House Price Index shows an annual price increase of 6.7%, which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £166,798.

See: More £Million-Plus Houses Being Sold

(BMcC/GK)