THE Ipswich housing market has proved to be one of the most resilient with prices falling by less than 3 percent in the last six months, new figures have revealed.

Lizzie Parry

THE Ipswich housing market has proved to be one of the most resilient with prices falling by less than 3 percent in the last six months, new figures have revealed.

The average cost of a home in the town dropped by just 2.8% since September last year from �170,998 to �166,250, when the credit crunch intensified.

Ipswich is one of 12 towns and cities across the country that have bucked the trend during the recession, with Cheltenham proving the most robust, where prices dropped just 0.2%, according to property website Globrix.com.

Other pockets of resistance include Farnborough and Guildford in Surrey, Sevenoaks, Kent, Durham and Chesterfield.

The figures contrast with average price falls of 8.9% recorded across the whole of the UK by the Halifax house price index during the same period.

Local estate agent, Charlie Wright, a partner at Ipswich-based Fenn Wright said they have seen huge interest in the town centre in recent months as people take advantage of lower interest rates.

He said: “The Ipswich market is certainly particularly strong at the moment. Town houses are selling a lot better than country properties, and those in the lower spectrum are seeing a lot of interest.

“The general trend at the moment is definitely a move towards lower end properties selling well, particularly in the �100,000 to �300,000 bracket.

“We have sold a lot more properties in the lower end of the market than the upper end.

“We are still selling over one house a day as the lower end of the market takes off.”

He said houses in the town centre were attracting more interest than those in rural village locations at the moment.

With first time buyers seeing the opportunity to maximise on low interest rates, people are looking to buy properties in the town for future investment rather than keep money in the banks.

“I don't think you can pin point particular areas of the town centre, everywhere is selling well at the moment,” he added.

And Stuart Clarke, a partner at Clarke & Simpson and chairman of the local association of estate agents said Suffolk had bucked the national trend.

“Generally as a place to live, Suffolk has always been considered rather special, and being just an hour from London has meant it has held up much better than other parts of the country.”

The figures come as property website Rightmove said average asking prices increased for the third month in a row during April, rising by 1.8% as both buyers and sellers continued to return to the market.