Average house price on North Coast £163,684

All sectors of the market in Coleraine, Limavady and the North Coast showed improvement.

Apartments, in contrast to other areas of Northern Ireland, showed a 27% rise in average sale price over the year to 170,000.

The latest University of Ulster Quarterly House Price Index, produced in partnership with Bank of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, said the rate at which house prices were falling had dropped from 35% at the start of 2009 to just below 7% at the end of the year.

The authors of the latest report - Prof Alastair Adair, Prof Stanley McGreal, Louise Brown and David McIlhatton - said: “This latest survey indicates an improving housing market.”

Although overall average prices are still down, the rate of price decline has slowed significantly, with prospects for a modest increase in price levels during 2010.”