Grim picture of property market out of London

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In a research note entitled It's Grim Up North, Alastair Stewart reports "a near-apocalyptic landscape" in the four cities he visited. He found the six leading property agents in Leeds have shifted just six flats in two months.

He also picked up a scoop: an internal Barratt sales brochure in which the housebuilder marks down prices by up to 43%.

After talking to consultants and agents in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield, he found "prices of urban apartments appear to have fallen in many cases by 40% to 50%, volumes have dried up to virtually zero, many developers have gone bust and land in many cases appears to be worthless".

The situation, Stewart says, is "far worse than even the most candid builders have revealed".

He concludes that listed firms are on the brink of profit warnings and a widespread breach of banking covenants.

He found "developers selling at virtually any price to shift flats and virtually all forthcoming new developments mothballed".