House prices in Northern Ireland remain the worst performing in the UK, according to new data out today.

The latest research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) also shows that almost a third of respondents reported a slump in prices in the last three months.

RICS Northern Ireland spokesman, Tom McClelland, said: "According to a range of indices the local economy is lagging other UK regions.

"It is therefore not surprising that the local housing market falls into the same bracket."

And there is more grim news on the horizon with the majority of those polled for the housing market survey stating that both prices and transaction volumes will remain flat for the next three months to the end of July.

Mr McClelland added: "In terms of activity, there has no doubt been evidence of an increase, with more enquiries from buyers and marketing appraisals for sellers, but it is still just as difficult to pin down deals, with a lot of hard work moving an enquiry to a completed sale."

Almost three-quarters of Northern Ireland chartered surveyors consulted for the Ulster Bank-sponsored research also expect prices to be flat over the year ahead.

"With the impact of public spending cuts starting to be felt in the Northern Ireland economy, the likelihood is for a subdued - and largely stable - market for some time to come," said Mr McClelland.

The findings mean that there is unlikely to be significant change in Northern Ireland housing market conditions post General Election, which is good news for house hunters but bad news for those trying to sell their home.

There was another boost for home-owners yesterday after the Bank of England decided to hold interest rates at 0.5%.

Experts said interest rates could remain at their current record low for an extended period to compensate for the deficit-slashing plans of the new government.

Key findings of the RICS data are:

• The net balance for prices during the past three months was -24, with 63% of respondents saying that prices were unchanged, 30% saying they were lower and the remainder saying they rose.

• The net balance for transactions during the past three months was 14, with 57% saying that transactions levels remained unchanged, 14% saying they were down and 28% saying they were up.

• The net balance for transaction expectations during the next three months was 14, with 57% saying that transactions levels will be unchanged, 14% saying they will fall and 29% saying they will go up.

• The net balance for price expectations is -7, with 79% saying prices will be flat in the quarter ahead, 14% saying they will be down, and 7% saying they will rise.

Derek Wilson, head of lending products at Ulster Bank, said: "The more stable market conditions that respondents to the survey are expecting should, at least, provide some reassurance to those contemplating a home purchase."