Crippling debts caused by the unprecedented housing market crash are thrusting leading Northern Ireland developers to the brink of bankruptcy.

The stagnant market has left several top property developers near the point of ruin.

The sheer scale and speed of the decline has taken many unawares.

An industry source revealed the utter ferocity of the initial Northern Ireland housing market growth peaked anything experienced in Europe, and now the downturn is proving to be just as dramatic.

The slump has reduced the price of some properties by as much as £500, daily.

And now many developers, who in some instanced turned over millions of pounds during the boom, cannot afford to pay staff.

Many are still trading at the mercy of their banks, according to experts.

There has been a notable knock-on effect for businesses operating around the industry.

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Removal firms, estate agents and builders are feeling the tremors of the property market smash, which has resulted in a steady stream of job losses.

There is some good news however, albeit for first time buyers - reduced prices.

The misery felt by thousands was summed up in a Bloomberg report, published this week, entitled 'Housing Slump Hits Northern Ireland Economy Harder Than Bombs'.

The reported suggested house prices in the Province are falling almost five times faster than in the rest of Great Britain.

Yesterday, a body representing developers, suppliers, surveyors and other key stakeholders in the housing market, revealed that 50 Construction & Property Group members have slashed their workforce by 70% in the last year.

This resulted in 1,550 redundancies over the past 12-months.

Lobbyist Brendan Cunnane said this figure has increased since July, with many building firms telling workers not to return after the Twelfth holidays.

Mr Cunnane called on the Stormont Assembly to take action. He has appealed to the government to invest public money into buying-up housing stock, currently floundering on the market.

Mr Cunnane insisted many developers are not far from liquidation.

He said: "I would say that a lot of them are living on borrowed time because they're not meeting their interest payments already.

"The developers have realigned their prices but there is not much more that they can do and survive - they are at rock-bottom prices."

If developers go bankrupt banks will have to contend with "huge losses", according to Mr Cunnane.

He said this means it is "in the banks' own interest" to free up the mortgage market again to assist developers.

(PR/JM)