One canny Northern Ireland estate agent was quick to see the commercial possibilities thrown up by Thursday's historic IRA statement calling on volunteers to end their terror campaign and dump arms.

According to Desmond Turley, fellow of the Irish auctioneers and valuers institute, house prices in the province could rise by as much as 50 per cent on the back of the IRA announcement as happened after the group's original ceasefire back in 1994.