The number of homes in England that are empty has fallen for the first time in three years, according to research.

About 295,519 privately owned properties had been vacant for more than six months in April this year, six per cent fewer than in the same month of 2009, according to Halifax. The drop means that the number of homes that are empty on a long-term basis in England is at its lowest level since 2007, accounting for 1.6 per cent of all private homes.

But the group said there was a significant north/south divide, with nearly two-thirds of homes that had been empty for more than six months in the north.

The North West is the region with the highest number of empty homes, with 64,596 vacant properties, the equivalent of 2.6 per cent of all privately owned homes in the region, and accounting for 22 per cent of the total number of vacant homes across England.

The North East also had a high proportion of its privately owned housing stock unoccupied at 2.3 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, only 1.1 per cent of homes in both the South East and the South West have been empty for more than six months, rising to 1.2 per cent in London and 1.4 per cent in the East.

The group also found that high levels of empty properties tended to be concentrated in deprived areas with lower house prices.

In the 16 areas where the proportion of empty homes was at least double the national average, house prices were typically 29 per cent lower than across the country as a whole, while earnings were 14 per cent below the national average wage.