Today, though, take a drive through west Belfast, for instance, and you'll see fliers posted on gable ends saying "Investor seeks properties . . . best prices paid".

There's even one near the site of the Shankill bomb, the IRA atrocity that spawned a spiral of violence in interface areas throughout the city that seemed intractable a few years ago.

Houses just can't come onto the market fast enough for canny investors with an eye for a good bet and families living in the shadow of the Peace Line, who batoned down the hatches in the worst days of the Troubles, can't believe their pre-war terraces are fetching offers over �150,000 ( 220,000), while new-builds on wastelands that once hosted only sectarian bonfires and beatings are making �190,000 ( 280,000).

And it's not just happening in the Shankill.

"Areas such as the Donegall Road and Newtownards Road as well as the Shankill are becoming more desirable, and investors are no longer shying away from them, " says Jo Gavigan, of Scottish-based company Braemore Property Management, the first company from outside the province to open a business in Belfast that is dedicated solely to residential letting.

The company had investigated numerous possibilities for expansion but Belfast was the one city which ticked all the boxes in terms of an emerging market and capacity for future growth.

"Some house prices in these areas have doubled in the past year, a dramatic rise compared to Britain and even the rest of Belfast. However, they are still affordable compared to south Belfast and the Queen's University/Malone areas, which makes them attractive to investors.

"For example, a three-bed terraced house in Donegall Road that might have sold for �80,000 ( 118,000) this time last year may fetch �160,000 ( 235,000) today . . .

a reflection of a fast-improving area . . . yet it is still a far more affordable investment than its counterpart in the South, which could cost as much as �260,000 ( 382,000)."

The feel-good factor The catch, though, if you could call it that, is that rental returns in former Peace Line areas don't always yield the same as their counterparts elsewhere in the city.

"For example, a three-bed Donegall Road property would yield an average of �450 ( 660) per month, but this investment would still offer great potential for capital gains, " says Gavigan.

"This makes these areas particularly attractive to landlords who are not reliant on the rental income. Similarly, a lot of firsttime buyers are choosing to join the property ladder in these areas, purely because they can afford the mortgage.

"While it may take time for negative perceptions to wane, it's clear that these areas are proving increasingly attractive places to live.

"The buoyant property market and strengthening economy is revitalising west Belfast, for example.

"The government is also investing a lot of money into regeneration and infrastructure, and there is a lot of new business enterprise activity too.

"All these factors are creating a huge 'feel-good' factor and opening investors' eyes to the huge potential that exists in the Belfast property market."

Northern Ireland estate agent John Minnis agrees.

"The market generally and maybe especially in these areas of Belfast is actually being driven by the investment buyers, " he says.

"Unlike first-time buyers who are often on a tight budget, they can afford to bid upwards and it's that which has fuelled the incredible equity increases we've seen.

"The average cost of a home here, for instance, rose 37% last year to �195,751 ( 287,261) . . . at least 5% more than the UK national average and nine times the gross local average salary. Only London and southern England are more expensive.

"House prices in Northern Ireland have quadrupled since 1994.

We've been in a catch-up situation after the 30-year stagnation during the Troubles. There's been a catch-up with Britain and the Republic . . . and there's no sign of a tail-off."

Indeed, spurred by property investment returns, the number of landlords in Northern Ireland has jumped as banks have offered rental property investment loans, or 'buy to let' mortgages.

"Nearly half of all private landlords in Northern Ireland acquired their properties in the past five years, according to a 2005 Housing Executive study, and the number of homes they own has more than doubled since 1991 to make up at least 11% of the housing stock, " continues Minnis.

"Rental levels are higher in the South than up here but if prices are rising you often find people looking towards markets where the prices are lower, because while the rental returns will be smaller the initial outlay is also less, representing a smaller risk.

"For people buying to let for the first or second time the smaller risk will be more appealing."

Minnis, a member of the Institute of Professional Valuers and Auctioneers, also played down fears of a 'boom and bust' in the buy-to-let market.

Buoyant economy Although the record rises of last year mightn't be repeated, he says the next 12 months would again see house-price inflation of 15% and more in property hotspots, like the prestigious Malone, Belmont and Knock areas of Belfast.

This sustainability, he said, was down to demographics, with more people returning to city-centre living . . . as has been the case for some time now in Dublin, for instance . . . and the rate of family break-up, with more single people looking to set up home.

"Demand is even being fuelled by the fact that people are living longer and often want to downsize from larger family homes in later life. Of course, the low interest rate also helps!" says Minnis.

"So when the DUP and Sinn Fein finally take up office on Tuesday 8 May in Stormont it not only ends over four years' deadlock in peace efforts but it heralds potentially the start of Northern Ireland's most buoyant economic chapter yet and the booming property investment market is an obvious reflection of that."

ARDOYNE
Belfast In 2001, the world's media descended on Belfast's Ardoyne where rioting erupted when protesters blocked the path of Catholic children trying to reach their primary school on the Protestant side of the so-called Peace Line.

"Hesketh Park was an area at the heart of the Holy Cross row. A few years back I was selling houses there at �35,000 ( 52,000). Yesterday I put a house on at �135,000 ( 198,000), " says Colin Barkley of Brian Morton and Co.

"And while we are seeing some buyers in these areas from other parts of the city, most of them are local people who no longer feel overshadowed by those headlines.

"However, rental returns haven't kept the same pace as house-price rises, so investment buyers may have to top up their rental income to meet mortgage repayments and as a result there may be fewer investors coming through.

"This, though, leaves the way open for the first-time buyers, and it's they who fuel the house market . . . even if it's with help from parents who have a �30,000 ( 44,000) mortgage, for example, yet find their home to be worth �350,000 ( 514,000)."

DONEGALL ROAD
Belfast
The Donegall Road was synonymous with sectarian violence throughout the Troubles with its 'Village' area a notorious loyalist stronghold.

For years, many houses lay bricked up, with no chance of a sale. You literally couldn't give them away.

"Certainly in this area there are properties to be had in the lower price bracket . . . �125,000 ( 183,000) for example, which make an excellent investment buy. And while these pockets aren't seeing the same mammoth price rises as some other areas, buyers are pretty much assured of steady growth in the mid to high teens over the longer term, " says David Cairns of Eric Cairns Partnership.

"Investment buying should always be viewed in the longer term anyway, so in terms of value for money and capital growth, this area represents an excellent prospect.

"It also has a steady supply of potential renters, both from local families as well as nearby Queen's University and Belfast City Hospital . . . another factor to consider when buying an investment property.

"Prices in this area have also been helped by the knock-on effect of the rocketing prices of the Lisburn Road and it's always a smart move to buy a cheap property in an area beside one that's soaring."

ORMEAU ROAD
Belfast
The Ormeau Road has seen more than its share of bleak headlines. In 1992, five Catholics died when a loyalist murder gang raked the bookies they were in with bullets.

But last month a terrace in Hatfield Street, just around the corner, sold for well over �170,000 ( 250,000).

"With house prices in the Republic dropping 10%, according to recent reports, we're seeing an increasing number of buyers from there with capital to invest in Northern Ireland, says Charlene Kernan of Hampton Estates.

"Compared, though, to a year ago, things are perhaps levelling off slightly with investment buyers looking at a longer term. In recent times, with even two-up-two-downs going on the market at �170,000 ( 250,000), they've been getting the returns they were after in six to 12 months.

"Right now, though, I'd say investors are waiting to see the outcome of 8 May and there's also another interest rate rise expected on 12 May."

SPRINGFIELD ROAD
Belfast
Before the Troubles, this was a smart city boulevard which linked the Springfield and the Shankill Roads but the end of Ainsworth Avenue had to be bricked up by the Peace Wall at the height of the violence.

Families from one religion or the other living on the 'wrong' side of the wall left or were forced to leave and those remaining boarded up their windows nightly.

Now, though, there's a renaissance in this community. "With economic and political stability has come confidence. People who moved out now want to come back to their roots and the result is soaring equity value. A terrace we put on at �200,000 ( 294,000) was at �225,000 ( 330,000) within days. First-time buyers whose families moved away from the area 15 years ago can't often afford their first choices now, so they're looking to where they came from, " says Kirby O'Connor of Gerry O'Connor Estate Agents.

"People are discovering that the west of the city is being regenerated.

It's once again somewhere they are choosing to live.

"It's also a healthy area for investors as there is a strong rental demand and because prices aren't what they are in other areas, landlords can still expect a decent return."

HARRYVILLE
Ballymena
As recently as last September paint bombs were being thrown at the Church of Our Lady where worshippers faced weekly protests by Protestants. Despite this, the area's property values are on the up.

"The Harryville area has seen healthy price gains, though not the massive rises of some areas. Having said that, for houses we took on at �100,000 ( 147,000) a year ago we're getting �140,000 ( 206,000) today, " says Stuart Brewster.

"This is a strong rental area which is good news though for investors who don't have a massive outlay and can then recoup most of their mortgage costs with their rental income.

"The area has also caught the eye of major developers. One is coming on line with 120 units. If the big players see the area as a good investment, it augers well for Harryville."