LANCASHIRE house prices have started to stabilise, new figures have revealed.

After almost two years of falling prices latest statistics from the Land Registry have shown that the market is starting to bottom out.

In Lancashire, house prices fell by just 0.3 per cent last month, following similarly small drops in the previous four months.

But the figures show that house prices remain around 15 per cent lower than they were this time last year.

In Blackburn with Darwen house prices fell by three per cent in July but the previous month they had risen by 1.3 per cent.

Hilary Fielding, who runs Hilary’s Estate Agents, an independent East Lancashire firm, said the market now appeared to have reached the bottom.

She said: “At long last there are many more houses being sold.

"There are now houses being put on the market at sensible prices.

"People have realised that if they have to accept less for their house then they will probably be able to get the house they need for less too.

“If people ask a realistic price then their home can sell in a week.”

She said that there was now a lot of frustration from buyers because of the length of time it takes for mortgage providers to approve lending with many applications taking up to three weeks to be processed.

She added: “House prices may not start to go up significantly for at least the next 12 months but at least the market seems to have stabilised.”

Average house prices in Lancashire are now £114,265 compared to £134,424 a year ago.

And in Blackburn with Darwen the average house costs £80,778 when it cost £94,459 12 months previously.

The Lancashire figure was not broken down by the Land Registry to include boroughs such as Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, Rossendale and the Ribble Valley.

House prices in England and Wales rose by 1.7 per cent in July compared with June — the biggest monthly leap in value since July 2004, the Land Registry said.