City workers dump £1m apartments on market

CITY workers worried about losing their jobs are rushing to sell their Canary Wharf flats, according to new housing figures.

Rightmove has noted a 12.4 per cent rise in the number of properties for sale in the borough of Tower Hamlets, home to Canary Wharf and the Docklands. The number of properties for sale for between £750,000 and £1 million has doubled in the past month.

Experts from the website said that the levels were "unseasonably" high and suggested that sellers were being forced to sell higher-value homes, slashing prices for a quick sale. Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: "Such an influx of properties in a higher value band in no way suggests a price recovery, merely a degree of distress among those seeking a higher asking price. Those employed in the financial services sector have been especially hard hit by employment uncertainty and job losses, and a natural casualty is their homes."

He forecast that 2009 would be "the year of the property deal", with a growing number of bargains on offer as those in financial difficulty try to sell.

Mr Shipside said: "Sadly, the best buys will be at the expense of personal distress, but to the gain of the cash rich."