Darren Winnard, senior partner at Batt and Brown, says the picture is nowhere near as bleak as some people have painted it and that homes are still being bought and sold in steady quantities.

He also points to a new survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that suggests that falling prices, may be starting to level out.

He said: "There is simply no reason to talk the market down with doom and gloom reports. We should all be more positive."

Batt and Brown itself, with offices in Standish, Shevington and Wigan town centre, can itself point to a healthy 45 net sales last month and Mr Winnard said that with positive thinking and pro-active marketing, there was no reason to believe that the trend cannot continue.

He said that the demand for houses is still as strong as ever and though mortgage lenders still have a tight lending criteria there are signs that this is starting to soften.

Mr Winnard added: "Vendors do need to be realistic though. People must appreciate that achieved prices may not be the same as last year. But this can be irrelevant to a certain extent. Ten years ago we bought houses for less money and sold them for less money, so if someone is moving house, a readjustment of house prices might not have any effect whatsoever."

He continued: "The housing market will bounce back, it always does."
"As the market became more difficult, staff at Batt and Brown work even harder and continue to achieve sales targets by using more initiative."