CLAIMS the UK’s housing market is on its knees have been dismissed as "wild generalisation’"by one of Cumbria's property agents.

Businessman Nick Millar, who runs two Fine & Country agencies in Penrith and Carlisle, as well as Eden Estate Agency in Penrith, said the last two years had been his best ever.

Mr Millar was referring to recent Land Registry figures that pointed to a national slowdown in homes being listed for sale, and a rise in prices in February of just 0.4 per cent year on year.

However, he has dismissed claims of a "Brexit-fuelled slump" in the property market, saying the sector in Cumbria is strong.

"What we are being presented with are figures which take account of the UK as a whole, and are particularly influenced by the London property bubble,” said Mr Millar, who has 35 years' experience as a commercial and property lawyer.

“A real picture of doom and gloom is being painted, and Brexit is in the firing line when it comes to the reasons why. However, that simply is not the case in Cumbria.

“Of course there have been variations in the market over the last couple of years and there was a brief period when we experienced a drop in activity. However the recovery has been strong and as a county Cumbria is enjoying a very stable market.”

Mr Millard said the latest figures on the Land Registry’s House Price Index for London from the point when the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, to December 2018, showed it rose marginally by 0.92 per cent.

However, the picture in Cumbria was far more buoyant according to the index, said Mr Millar. Figures for the same period rose by 8.25 per cent.

Mr Millar runs his property company portfolio with his wife Helen, and they employ 10 people.

He opened the new Fine & Country agency at Warwick Road, Carlisle, last November. explaining: "We simply would not have taken the decision to open a new branch of Fine & Country if we had any fears about the market.

"Basing generalised doom-and-gloom messages on the latest data is wildly misleading, because different parts of the UK have very different property markets.

"Cumbria is a market with its own dynamics. Buyers are driven usually by aspiration, so there is always demand for homes to cater for retirement, holidays or simply a lifestyle change."

Mr Millar said the steady demand for homes in the county was only vulnerable when people postponed decisions over uncertainty, as with the "credit crunch".

He added: "So it’s very pleasing to say Cumbria is buoyant, and long may that continue for vendors and buyers alike.”