Hi
I live in Scorton which is a small village just north of garstang off the A6, hence Forest of Bowland rather than Ribble Valley but still a similar profile re house prices. Depending what end of the market you are looking at, there are a volume of very expensive houses (often barn conversions or large old houses in the **** end of nowhere) usually quited dated looking and offered at very optimistic prices. These tend to be either snapped up straight away or on the market for many years (literally, I bought my house in 2005 and I know that some other places are still for sale).
At the mid end, prices are definitely down but nice houses do sell once they are at the right price particularly if they are a bit different e.g attractive older houses, large gardens, good village location etc.
I bought a 3 bed terrace in Scorton a few months ago which I rent out and have also just bought a large 2 bed flat (over 1000 sq ft) in a Georgian town house on Winckley Square in Preston which was a reposession so, while I am not optimistic in the short term, I am certainly hopeful that in the 5-10 year view things in this part of the NW will look up. I paid £130k for the terrace and £134k for the flat and rental return is around 6-7% pa so currently making a small return at least.
