Almost a quarter of all flats and a fifth of all houses for sale in Shrewsbury have been on the market for at least a year, according to new research.

The figures of 22 per cent and 20 per cent respectively are way above the national average. The statistics are part of a report which illustrates the slowdown in the property market over the past 12 months nationwide.

It shows that almost a third of flats and more than a quarter of houses up for sale have been on the market for more than six months.

About 30 per cent of flats and 26 per cent of houses have failed to sell during the past six months, while 10 per cent of flats and seven per cent of houses have been on the market for more than a year, according to property website Globrix.com.

The group said despite interest from potential buyers picking up during the past few weeks, falling house prices and the shortage of mortgages meant sales had remained static.

It said one-bedroom flats, which are traditionally popular with first-time buyers who are most likely to struggle to get a mortgage in the current market, were proving the hardest to sell, while three-bedroom family homes were most in demand.

The market stagnation is most severe in Aberystwyth with 26 per cent of houses and 23 per cent of flats that are on the market there still unsold after 12 months.

In Shrewsbury, 20 per cent of houses have failed to sell after a year, falling only slightly to 18 per cent in Newport and Hartlepool, and 15 per cent in Torquay and Oldham.

Peterborough has the highest proportion of unsold flats, with 24 per cent still unsold after a year.

In Altrincham, Cheshire and in Shrewsbury 22 per cent of flats on the market have been up for sale for at least a year, with 19 per cent of flats in this position in Oldham and Portsmouth.

Daniel Lee, chief executive of Globrix, said: “On the surface these figures make pretty grim reading and provide few positive signs that the property market will recover any time soon.

“However, on the ground there is far more optimism. Estate agents are reporting that buyer interest has picked up over the last couple of months, and we have tracked motivated sellers price cutting across the board to attract buyers.”

He said the next couple of months were likely to provide a strong indicator of the current state of the property market, as early spring was traditionally a buoyant time for property sales.