12 months misery for house sellers

HOUSE sellers in Oldham are facing a stagnant market with properties remaining unsold for the whole of 2008.

Figures show around 14 per cent of houses and flats in the borough have been on the market for the past 12 months.

Neighbouring Rochdale has fared worse with more than one in four (26 per cent) properties on the market failing to sell.

According to house search internet engine Globrix, towns in the North of England have been particularly hard hit.

Properties in the North accounted for eight of the top 10 towns with the highest proportion of properties that have failed to sell during the past year.

Across the UK, 5 per cent of homes currently for sale were first put on the market at the beginning of this year.

City properties have been less affected, with 5 per cent of homes in London not sold after a year.

But Manchester has been badly affected, with 13 per cent of homes on the market since January.

Daniel Lee, chief executive of Globrix, said: “It’s been a terrible year for the property market.

“These end-of-year figures bring into sharp focus just how stagnant the market has been in 2008.

“The gridlock in the market has been a result of the banks’ reluctance to lend and an unwillingness by sellers to lower their asking prices to more realistic levels.

“Fortunately, in the past few weeks there have been signs that sellers are starting to accept that they need to drop their prices if they are going to attract buyers.”