Housing market slump continues

THE North West’s property market remained subdued in February with London being the only area where surveyors reported price increases, according to a new survey.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Housing Market Survey showed that more of its members were reporting price declines than increases for February, although the decline was not as marked as in other parts of the north of England and was slightly better than the national average.

Comments from surveyors around the region also varied, with Jonathan Clayton of Bentley Higgs & Co in Blackpool stating that the market remains “exceptionally quiet” due to a lack of mortgage funding.

Shannon Conway of King Sturge in Liverpool also argued that the wave of local authority job cuts that were being announced were also beginning to have an effect on people’s confidence.

“Elsewhere, stock to the market is increasing as some vendors wish to make a move whilst there are bargains to be had in the marketplace,” she said.

John Halman of Wilmslow-based Gascoigne Halman also reported an increase in both the amount of new homes coming onto the market and a slight increase in sales.