The number of home sales across Merseyside has plummeted in the last three months. City Editor David Bartlett reports on the state of the property market

HOUSE sales have plummeted across Liverpool by 61%, compared to even last summer’s difficult market place.

The latest Land Registry figures show a continuing state of stagnation in the region’s property market.

Between January and March, only 981 homes in the L postcode were sold which covers Liverpool, most of Sefton, and West Lancashire.

It marked a huge decrease of 61% from just nine months ago, when 2,519 were sold between last April and June.

And in the CH postcode, which covers Wirral and Chester, sales have fallen by 56.5% since June.

In the first three months of the year, only 854 homes were sold, compared to 1,966 sales between April and June last year.

The Land Registry data also shows the areas across the region that have seen the biggest price drops in the current slump.

In the last nine months, prices fell by 27% in L4, which covers Anfield, Kirkdale, and Walton.

In L6, which includes Everton, Fairfield and Tuebrook, prices were down 28%, with the average property selling for £60,513. It is the cheapest postcode area in the city to buy property.

L25, which covers Gateacre, Hunts Cross and Woolton, is the most expensive postcode, with the average price listed as £210,131.

Despite the slow sales during the first quarter of the year, estate agents have said that during April they enjoyed one of their busiest months in the last two years. A leading estate agent also said that national home-builders are now looking for plots to build houses as land prices have plummeted by 50%.

In Allerton, prices are down by around 15% since June, but last month Venmore estate agent’s office in the suburb saw an increase of 30% of viewings, compared to the same time last year.

Paul Lea, a leading agent on the Wirral, said that during the boom, it only took an average of nine viewings to make a sale – now it stands at around 15.

But, despite the slow level of sales, estate agents are reporting that conditions are starting to improve and the bottom of the market may be close to being reached.

Caldy, on the west side of Wirral, continues to be the most expensive place on Merseyside to buy property.

The average price in the CH48 postcode is £511,636, up 51% since June, although this is skewed by the fact very few sales were made.

Mr Lea, of Bradshaw, Farnham & Lea, said: “Mortgage funding is still an issue – this is because if you have a 30% or 40% deposit you will get a good deal.

“Three or four lenders are doing 90% mortgages, but you are looking at lending rates around 6.8%, despite the base rate being just 0.5%, so that makes borrowing expensive.