Berkeley's Profits Down.

One of the UK's largest house-building firms, Berkeley homes has announced a drop in half-year profits, down 15% during the six months to October 31. A slowing property market has meant that they have sold fewer homes. However the company remain positive regarding its future prospects, as it believes that the property industry continues to be the best source of investment. "The fundamentals for housing are still good with historically low interest rates, strong employment and constraints in supply due to planning delays", a spokesman said.

Rates Stand Still.

The Bank of England MPC has today announced that it is to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75% for the fourth month running. Five rate increases in the last year has succeeded in slowing the property market and has left the Halifax bank predicting that house prices will fall by approximately 2% next year. There is uncertainty amongst economists on whether interest rates will rise or fall in 2005.

According to a quarterly review which was recently compiled by the Bank of Ireland, house prices are set to continue rising above the rate of inflation next year. The bank expects house prices in Ireland to rise by 6% in 2005. This follows an increase of approximately 10% this year, which has seen average house prices in Ireland exceed 300,000 Euros.

According to a report compiled by the University of Ulster, house prices in Northern Ireland have risen by close to 10% during the last year.

Northern Ireland's average property price for the third quarter now stands at £124,150, which is up from £112,806 in the previous quarter. The highest average house price in Northern Ireland was recorded in South Belfast at £153,716.

Bank of Ireland economist Alan Bridle said: "We remain confident that Northern Ireland house price will continue on a positive trend but perhaps in a more balanced market, where buyers are a little bit more realistic in their expectations."

Rents Soaring.

With an increasing number of nervous homeowners and first-time buyers facing uncertainty about the housing market, more are biding their time by opting to go into rental accommodation. According to a recent survey conducted by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), rents have risen over the past couple of months at their fastest rate for over three years. Flats have achieved higher rent rises than houses, with London reporting the strongest rental rise. RICS Spokesman Jeremy Leaf said: "Now, the attitude of 'why rush?' is influencing the demand for rental property".