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House price slump hits home

by Miles Skinner
16/ 4/2008

PROPERTY in Poynton is bearing the brunt of plunging prices according to a recent survey.

The cost of houses in the Stockport district have fallen 8.6 per cent in the past year - the biggest drop of any area in the country.

Researchers said the SK12 area shows the highest downturn among prices falling in nearly half the 23,000 postcode districts in England and Wales. Neighbouring Bramhall is also suffering a sharp decrease in house prices with prices, which have fallen by 4.9 per cent, the same as Macclesfield.

The report was based on figures compiled by Hometrack, which asks estate agents about ‘achievable’ prices rather than actual sales prices.

Estate agents in Poynton say there is still a strong demand for ‘top end’ properties but admitted family homes between £180,000 and £200,000 are now hard to sell. One area of Poynton with a number of For Sale signs is the Bird Estate, where many properties are priced just under £200,000.

Most sellers agreed the market is flat.

Irene Richmond, of Glebe Close, placed her home on the market 16 months ago.

"I would say that we’ve only had around 16 viewings in all that time," she said. "And we’ve had to change estate agents three times."

Mrs Richmond, who moved in 20 years ago, added: "We’ve dropped the price by £10,000 and are now considering renting it out instead of selling."

Neighbour Claire Broddle, 34, said she and her family have just decided to remove their home from sale after three months on the market.

"We’ve just not received the interest we expected and have decided to remain here," she said. "We’ve lived here for two years now and this is the right thing for us to do. I believe the underlying problem affecting Poynton, and everywhere else, is the credit crunch."

Morag Pallett, of Mallard Crescent, said she has reduced the price of her house twice since placing it on the market last October. "I’m not prepared to reduce it any more and it’s now a case of waiting to see what happens," she said.

"I’m not in a hurry to sell and I’m not going to drop the price any more just for the sake of it."

But Caroline Gillespie, a sales negotiator at Bridgford’s estate agents in Poynton, said she had seen little evidence of such a severe slump.

"This office had the best year on record last year," she said. "Houses in the upper price bracket are selling as well as they have ever been, but some properties on the Bird Estate have been sticking."