Phil Spencer, of Garrington property search company and Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location , says: Make sure you select the best agent for the type of property you have. Look in the window to see if houses like yours are advertised there. Then fix the right price, bearing in mind that the market calms down in the summer, so there’s no point being too ambitious.

First impressions are vital. Tidy up the front garden and the drive and paint the front door. Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, so get cleaning and polishing. Buy things such as a new kettle, new bathroom lino, new door handles. Clear out clutter, turn the storage room into a bedroom, then ask a friend to come round and give their honest opinion.

If your house still doesn’t sell, ask your agents why they haven’t sold it and how you can help them do their job.

Ed Mead, sales director, Douglas and Gordon, says: The two most important factors when selling a house are presentation and price. Most people will have an emotional response to a house within ten seconds, so you have to be tidy and your children can’t leave their underpants on the floor.

Even more important is price. The majority of the market is a little sticky at the moment, so you need to attract the most number of buyers. A high price is not going to get people through the door, so put it on at a guide price at the bottom end of your expectations, and you should then get several bidders who will push the price up. That takes balls, though.

If it still doesn’t sell, drop the price to appeal to a whole new level of buyers – there’s no point tinkering at the margins.

Sarah Beeny, presenter of Channel 4’s Property Ladder, says: I strongly believe there’s no such thing as a house that won’t sell. If it isn’t selling it’s too expensive. The Martins (see story on left) may have dropped their price by £100,000, but that’s clearly not enough. The danger in today’s market is that there is huge optimism in terms of value, so estate agents will come up with a figure they hope to get, and the vendor spends that in their head. Look at what you can buy in your area for the price you’re asking. If you need to drop the price, take the house off the market for two weeks before launching it with a new agent at a price at least 10 per cent lower.

There are also cosmetic things you can do that may make a buyer pick your house over someone else’s. Cleaning the windows is the most important: it will make rooms look lighter and brighter.

Story quoted from timesonline

“It’s all very well saying that prices are down 13percent on average across the country,” explains Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, “but the market is made up of very localised patches that vary street by street. Agents in some areas have even reported an upturn this month. The national figures do not give the bigger picture.”

The X-factor is not confined to the most expensive properties in the most salubrious locations. Less obvious towns, such as Warrington, also show potential to outperform, agents say, either because they are not overvalued, have already fallen in value by as much as 20 per cent, or look likely to benefit from planned regeneration.

Below are some of the places around Britain being tipped for their X-factor appeal:

Cotswold villages and Candover Valley, Hampshire

Rupert Sweeting, of Knight Frank: “Villages like Oddington and Broadwell are holding up. These areas are the property equivalent of blue chip shares, mainly because they are close enough to London for weekends.”

St John’s Wood, North London Spencer Botchin, of Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward: “This area has proximity to Central London but with a villagey feel. There are still a large number of foreign buyers and Canary Wharf workers. Students from London Business School rent here and a good family property does not take long to sell.”

Taunton, Somerset

Doug Withington, of Jackson-Stops & Staff: “The south side of Taunton is still popular. There are good private and independent schools and it is close to the M5. Angersleigh, Trull and Staplehay are proving popular.”

Anglesey, North Wales

Melfyn Williams, of Williams & Goodwin: “Realistic prices attract offers, so properties are selling. We are halfway through this month and have already sold the same as the whole of October 2007. Anglesey now has an airport with flights to Cardiff.”

Yorkshire villages

Julian D’Arcy, chairman of Knight Frank in the North: “Villages around Harrogate and Leeds have remained very popular as they are commutable. Homes don’t change hands often, so there is always a ready market.”

Upper Rissington, Gloucestershire

Karen Harrison, of Harrison & Hardie: “The old airbase closed about ten years ago and properties were sold off cheaply. They are still 10 to 15 per cent cheaper than anywhere else in the Cotswolds.”

Wirral

Sonia Mumford-Roach, a director at Bradshaw Farnham & Lea: “September was a great month. The Wirral is by the sea and has a lovely mixed bag of properties. It is well-placed for commuting to Manchester and Liverpool and there are good grammar schools.”

Lake District hideaways, such as Cartmel

Andrew Holmes, a partner at Carter Jonas: “We are slightly up on sales compared with last year. Cartmel is five minutes’ drive from Lake Windermere. Motorway access is excellent and it is five minutes from Cark and Cartmel station, which has trains to Manchester airport. People will always want a dream cottage here.”

Warrington

Paul Shawcross, of Bridgfords: “The WA5 postcode in Warrington is proving very popular. In Great Sankey, 1930s and 1970s semi-detached three-bed family homes are selling for the same price that terraced homes were 12 months ago. Competition is driving realistic pricing and plenty of sales.”

Streatham, South London

James Brooks, from Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward: “Cheaper than its neighbours Balham, Clapham and Battersea by at least 25 per cent. One and two-beds are under £175,000.”

West Cornwall

Jonathan Cunliffe, Savills: “Driving time from London is now reduced thanks to improvements to the A30, and the Paddington to Penzance rail link could become a bigger asset. The biggest reason to invest is the planned yacht marina between Mousehole and Newlyn.”

Blackpool

David Bexon, of SmartNewHomes.com: “Set to benefit from a regeneration scheme worth £300 million. English partnerships are also allocating up to £35 million for housing. The average house price of £124,018 is well under the national average.”

Canterbury

David Bexon, SmartNewHomes.com: “Homebuyers are keen to buy into impressive history and status as a World Heritage Site. The local economy has grown substantially, with thousands of businesses based in the city centre and plenty of job opportunities.”

Additional reporting by Lorna Blackwood and Francesca Steele. Story quoted from Timesonline

According to the Sheffield Telegraph, figures from the Emigration Group reveal that in the last eight months, 10,000 enquiries have been received.

High proportions of these were from people living in Sheffield and Manchester, the report adds.

Paul Arthur, director of the Emigration Group, tells the paper: “Our company has experienced a huge volume of enquiries from Sheffield this year, 208 enquires in the last eight months which compared to our average enquiry rate of 78, is very high.”

Spain and France are among the most popular locations, the publication continues, with many people seeking a better life for themselves and their families.