Those selling their homes have 'missed the boat' - according to a new survey - and even those buyers hoping to cash in on a downturn in the market are still struggling.

Last year's hugely inflated rise in house prices across Northern Ireland faltered during the last part of 2007, leaving sellers who failed to cash-in on the boom - which was adding hundreds of pounds to property values daily - now struggling to sell as prices 'stabilise'.

However, the fall in the last quarter of 2007 - which saw the average price of a house in Northern Ireland drop by an astounding £20,000 - hasn't been enough to entice many struggling first time buyers.

Even with the fall, the end of 2007 the average house was £230,000 compared with a peak last summer of £250,000, still too much for many to cover with a mortgage.

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The latest University of Ulster Quarterly House Price Index confirms that the boom in house prices is slowing down.

Although still higher than during the same period in 2006, house prices fell in the final quarter of 2007.

According to the report's authors - Professor Alastair Adair, Professor Stanley McGreal and Louise Brown of the University of Ulster - the end of year survey showed a housing market in transition.

Mrs Brown said: "Although price levels are still significantly higher than at this stage last year, the final quarter of 2007 saw price levels come down and the volume of transactions fall, particularly in the second-hand market."

The university's survey, produced in partnership with Bank of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, is the broadest-based and most authoritative of all those undertaken in Northern Ireland. It covers some 117 estate agencies.

The economist Alan Bridle, of the Bank of Ireland, said the housing market had "hit a brick wall" in the final months of 2007 and there was the possibility that the average price could fall by 5% to 10% over the 12 months in 2008.

Most house types showed a drop in retail price at the end of last year.

Terraced and town houses were down by 6%, semi-detached houses by 7.3%, detached houses by 8.1% and semi-detached bungalows by 4.1%.

However, new-build apartments bucked the trend by rising 6.6% while detached bungalows showed a marginal 0.2% increase.

(BMcC)