Home-sales headache for middle-class

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Property Portfolio Rescue, which specialises in selling homes for owners in financial difficulties, says that job losses and the property downturn have caused the number of people turning to it for help to rise sharply as desperate owners look for quick sales to avoid repossession.

Inquiries from owners of houses worth more than £500,000 have grown fastest, rising by 220% in the last year. PPR director Nick Hopkinson said: "This is a clear indication that the cycle of recession is really biting now across the whole UK economy."

PPR predicts 70,000 homes will be repossessed this year, over 60% more than last year. The group also said many buy-to-let landlords are being forced to sell some of properties.

Meanwhile, property search engine Globrix.com said 7% of homes for sale in the UK have been on the market for a year or longer.