The housing market is not all doom and gloom, according to one estate agent.

Speaking to the Portadown Times, estate agent Michael Hannath said September was the strongest month this year with a "significant increase in enquiries".

He claimed the property decline started 14 months ago and that this year had been difficult so far.

"Overnight we became a nation of property investors and as more people jumped on the bandwagon the prices continued to spiral upward, creating a monster," he told the news provider.

Mr Hannath added that the monster ultimately turned on the "very people who created it" with Northern Rock being the first casualty.

He told the paper that it was inevitable the bubble was going to burst but no one expected things to get as bad as they have.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Northern Rocks 4,000 staff could be paid bonuses worth up to 60 per cent of their annual salary if they help the bank repay its government loan on time.

Get a private independent survey.