STOP worrying about the property market and enroll in an evening course to learn from the professionals.

The Property Ladder, a six-week property investment course will take place again this autumn 2007 at the National College of Ireland, IFSC, Dublin every Monday evening from 24 September to 5 November. Novice first-time buyers and seasoned investors alike are welcome to gen up on the best and latest property hot spots at home as well as the increasingly bewildering overseas market.

Mortgage, tax and legal advice is also covered with lectures from 12 independent experts in the property area. Course director is Mary Fitzgerald (pictured), the fee is 200, and it can be booked online on www.MaryFitzGeraldPR. ie/booking or by calling 01678 7916.

Silence is golden for buyers

HAMMERS will will be silent and stored away for the forseeable future, it seems. Dublin auction houses, once viewed seen as the barometer for the health of the residential market, have been pretty quiet since last autumn . . . a trend set to continue.

Colliers Jackson Stops, will only have six properties for sale by public auction in Dublin this autumn. Agents and vendors don't want to risk the embarrassment of an empty auction room on the day, and then having to go back to the market under private treaty. All of which is better news for buyers when it comes to figuring out if the price tag is within their budget.

Green light for building show

ENVIRONMENTAL issues get another 'green'light at the end of this month with Ireland's first carbon neutral exhibition . . . The Irish Sustainable Building Show.

Organisers have teamed up with Ecocem, manufacturers of green cement for the show running over the weekend of 20-22 September in the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin.

Running times are from 11am-8 pm (Saturday, 10 am-5 pm). Tickets cost 15 at the door for non-trade visitors; registration is free at the door for trade.

It's getting dizzy up there AND you thought things were bad here during the first half of 2006 with property prices rising 22%.

In Northern Ireland, over the last 12 months alone, prices rose on average by a whopping 51%. According to the University of Ulster (UU), houses went up by more than stg�200 per day . . . the sort of inflation that confounded even the most cautious expectations.

Buyers appear oblivious to all the concerns re falling prices and rising interest rates this side of the border, says Bank of Ireland economist Alan Bridle, adding that a cooling off in price growth would make for a healthier market.

The UU Quarterly House Price Index found that semis and terraced houses rose the highest (63% for semis; 55% for terraced). South Belfast enjoyed the highest price hikes. The average price for a house throughout the province is now stg �240,408.