Bermuda's property market is not suffering from the same slump in house sales affecting the US, says one of the Island's top realtors.

Susan Thompson, agency manager at Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty, claims that while Bermuda may not be immune from a number of global trends, its unique circumstances ensured the continuing health of the Island's real estate sector.

And despite a levelling off in the market, local experts do not forecast the significant downturns experienced elsewhere, she said.

Globally the US home sales fell more than expected in May, down 14 percent compared with the same period last year.

Figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed an uneven picture across the country, with sales in southern states dropping 22.1 percent, whereas sales contracts in the west were two percent higher than in May 2007.

Lower prices were attracting some buyers back into the market, the NAR said, but the downturn is expected to continue for some months to come.

Across the Atlantic, UK house prices fell by 0.9 percent on average last month, according to the latest survey from the Nationwide.

The decline was less severe than the record 2.5-percent drop seen in May, but prices were now 6.3 percent lower than a year ago, the Nationwide said, with the average home now costing £172,415 and £13,629 cheaper than at the top of the market in October last year.

Ms Thompson said Bermuda's unique positioning was down to key differences in the country's economic, real estate, regulatory and financial practices, and urged buyers and sellers to have confidence in the market.

"Before giving up hope of a new home or taking your property off the market in desperation, it would be helpful to take a closer look at those 'warning' signs," she said.

"With good advice from your real estate agent, lender and legal advisor, now can be a good time to buy or sell."

She said one of the main distinctions between Bermuda and the US was that US banks and borrowers assumed they were protected by rising home prices, believing that if mortgage payments proved too onerous, a quick sale could pay back the loan, possibly netting a small profit in the process. But in reality this, along with sub-prime lending and other factors, proved not to be the case with a number of defaults and foreclosures arising as a result.

"This is where critical differences in lending practices work to Bermuda's advantage," said Ms Thompson. "When a Bermuda bank offers to finance 95 to 100 percent of a purchase, the loan comes with specific criteria.

"For one thing, Bermuda banks require a debt-to-service ratio of about 50 to 55 percent. With a requirement of 55 percent, for example, your bank adds the proposed mortgage payment to current payments such as school fees, car loans and credit cards.

"If those obligations exceeded 55 percent of your monthly income, the bank will not lend to you."

Ms Thompson added that the Island's financial institutions took a number of other additional precautions such as running full credit reports with the Bermuda Credit Association as well as other lenders, requiring collateral or guarantors to the loan, and even acquiring pre-approval prior to making a real estate commitment

."Most significant, perhaps, is that local lenders shy away from the most culpable cause of the US collapse, sub-prime lending," she said.