The fall in the number of long-term empty homes around the country has been steady rather than spectacular, the Empty Homes Agency (EHA) has said.
Earlier this week Halifax revealed that there had been a six per cent drop in the number of such properties that stood in England between 1996 and 2006, but the agency has suggested that overall figures are falling at a slightly faster rate.
Nonetheless, improved efforts by local authorities and increased demand from potential occupiers have helped ameliorate the figures, the EHA added.
"In terms of trends, the figures have been coming down very slowly. In England, for instance, the number of empty homes peaked in 1992 or 1993 when there were just over 800,000 and they are now down to 663,000," said EHA chief executive David Ireland.
"Long-term empty homes have declined much less. They have been more steady. There was just over 300,000 in the early nineties and now there are just under 300,000," Mr Ireland added.
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