More evidence that the house market in London due to further annual fall of 10.9% in August reported by Halifax.

New figures show that half the properties for sale have been on the market for longer than three months as vendors hold out for the right price but buyers struggle to get a mortgage and wait for prices to fall further.

Early in the year 32% had gone unsold for more than 3 months. This has increased to last month that figure was 51.2%.

Halifax said that property prices dropped 1.8% in August compared with July, leaving the cost of an average home in the UK at £174,178.

It said market conditions would remain "challenging" in the months ahead, despite government help for buyers. With the scarcity of mortgage availability and the increase in unsold property, brickor mortis is the paralysing condition of properties that stay on the market for so long that they are effectively dead in the water'.

this week after the government announced measures aimed at supporting homeowners and buyers, such as temporarily raising the threshold at which stamp duty is paid from £125,000 to £175,000. "This week's announcement on stamp duty is a welcome development and will benefit a significant number of homebuyers, particularly outside the South East of England. Market conditions, however, will remain challenging," said Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis.