A slowdown in Northern Ireland's housing market was predicted today by Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC).
The company's economic outlook said that house prices across the United Kingdom are overvalued, but that the odds of prices falling to below current values by 2010 were only around one in five.
Philip McDonagh, PWC's chief economist in Belfast, said: "There is clearly some risk of house prices falling over the next three years, but the growing population and rising employment should sustain demand while supply will continue to be constrained."
He added: "The most likely scenario is a slowdown in the housing market rather than an outright price fall.
"Nevertheless, despite the recent dramatic increase in Northern Ireland property prices, house prices are likely to continue to rise faster than general price inflation, although much more slowly than in recent years."
The most recent Halifax UK survey showed the steepest price rises in the United Kingdom were in four Northern Ireland cities. Armagh was up 188 per cent in five years, Newry 157 per cent, Lisburn 152 per cent and Derry 132 per cent.
PWC said that in the longer term it expected house price to continue to rise faster than consumer price inflation right up to 2020 - even assuming the government meets its targets for house building.