House prices in the north (north-west and north-east) have fallen throughout the whole of the Reeds Rains’ area for the first time this year, according to the region’s leading independent estate agent.

Prices fell by up to 7.5% in July compared to the previous month but are still more than 7% higher overall than in December 2006.

Reeds Rains recorded the highest drop - 7.5% - in its Manchester, West and South Yorkshire and east Lancashire area. North Yorkshire, Cumbria, north Lancashire, Humberside and the North East fell by 4% and south Lancashire, Cheshire, North Wales and Staffordshire by 1.6%.

Overall, house prices fell by 4.8% compared to June although they are still up to 10% higher than in December 2006 in areas such as North Yorkshire, Cumbria, north Lancashire, Humberside and the North East.

The average house price in the whole of the Reeds Rains region is now £152,653 – a rise of 7.6% on December 2000 and in July Reeds Rains sold a total of more than £226million worth of homes.

Nigel Favas, managing director of Reeds Rains, said: “The market has stagnated for the time being but a lot later into the year than envisaged.”

The company’s catchment area of almost 140 wholly-owned and franchised branches stretches from Stafford in the south to Newcastle upon Tyne in the north and from Bangor in the west to Grimsby in the east.

REEDS RAINS, the largest independent estate agent in the North of the UK, strongly advises pet lovers to check their building lease before becoming attached to a furry friend and flatmate.

Greg Davies, branch manager of Reeds Rains' Manchester City Living office, regularly provides advice to tenants and potential homeowners regarding keeping pets in city centre apartments.

The building lease which affects both homeowners and tenants often includes a 'no pets allowed' clause. However with written approval from the lease holder, homeowners can be allowed to keep small pets. For tenants, they will then need further written approval from their landlord.

Greg said, "If you are looking to buy or rent, and are a pet owner, it is in your best interest to check the terms and conditions of the building lease and/or your tenancy agreement."

"In most cases leaseholders and landlords are flexible and will judge each case individually on the suitability of the pet in the said environment.

"However, if the landlord finds evidence of a pet living in the property without permission, the landlord can give a notice period to the tenant and end their tenancy. Or the landlord may deduct money from the deposit to cover carpet cleaning costs."

STUART MACADAM, Senior Mortgage Adviser for Reeds Rains, the largest independent estate agent in the North of England, de-mystifies the steps of getting on to the property ladder for first time buyers.

Stuart, who recently won 'best performing mortgage advisor' for Reeds Rains, advises first time buyers to follow these steps:

. Firstly, visit a mortgage adviser to determine how much money you can borrow. Without this information you will not be able to guage where you can buy. It is important to calculate how much per month your mortgage will cost you, as the amount you are able to borrow and the monthly repayments can be two very different things altogether.

. Begin looking for properties, visit your local estate agents and ask about good areas within the region you are looking to live, i.e. young professional areas etc.

. Once you have found an area in which you wish to buy look at as many houses as possible in order to get a feel for what your money will buy. However, you will 'know' the right property when you find it. In my experience most people report 'that it just felt right'. It is important to return to the interested property at different times of day in order to ensure that there are no problems with the local area e.g. traffic etc.

. Submit an offer to the estate agent - a good mortgage adviser will submit an offer on your behalf.

. Once your offer has been accepted, re-visit your adviser in order to start the mortgage process. At this stage you will need to appoint a solicitor to carry out the legal work involved with buying the property.

. Once the survey has been carried out on the property you may have some issues to resolve. These may include considerations as electrical reports etc. Seek the help of your mortgage adviser in order to advise you on what you should be doing.

. Once the issues on the survey (if any) have been resolved you will receive your mortgage offer. At this point it is down to the solicitor to finish the legal work involved with buying the property.

. Once all legal work has been completed you can negotiate the move - in date. This is typically between 6-8 weeks after the whole process started.