Nearly 300,000 'empty homes in the UK'

There were 279,281 empty private homes in England in April 2007, according to the fifth annual Halifax survey.

Although this figure is nine per cent lower than the 308,438 recorded in April 2003 the north-west has the highest number of empty homes (61,450), representing 22 per cent of all the empty dwellings in the country.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said that it is "concerning" that the existence of empty homes remains a significant problem in a number of areas, especially in the north of England.

"We would like the government to extend the five per cent rate of VAT for renovating an empty home to all properties vacant for more than six months not just those properties that have been un-occupied for more than two years," he added.

These figures suggest that the north-west could offer significant opportunities for people who are planning to purchase an empty, run-down property and completely renovate it.