TURBULENT times in the property market have led to a slump in sales at South Woodford's biggest development.

Although Telford Homes, the developers of Queen Mary's Gate (QMG), has seen a big jump in profits to £17 million, its share price has nearly halved since the start of the year and it is not now expecting to sell the remaining flats at the Queen Mary's Gate development until the end of 2009.

Between four and five flats are currently being filled by new residents each week on the 372-home development, but nearly half the flats have not been sold.

Telford Homes marketing manager Sheena Ellwood said she remained upbeat about prospects for sales on the estate, pointing out that many flats had not yet been put on the market.

She said: "The rate of sale at QMG has slowed down over the past few weeks but, at this stage, it's partly the general market conditions. Customers are in wait and see mode. Before that, we were ahead but the property market is cyclical so there are spurts and lags."

She discounted any prospect of price cuts on the estate where flats are currently selling for between £225,000 and £285,000, adding: "We didn't push prices up when the market was strong last year, they are on a par with when we released them in September 2006."

QMG resident Nicole Benjamin said: "Before I moved in here I knew there might be a fall in the future because the prices have been going up for so long. I've only seen a handful of people but the car park downstairs is pretty busy."

This week the Nationwide Building Society released its latest property survey, showing the fall in house prices was speeding up nationally, reaching 4.4 per cent in the year to May.

Local estate agents, however, remain optimistic about the future of house prices in the area.

Susan Ellis, of Churchills in Wanstead, said: "Although prices are falling we're still getting interest in the right properties. Wanstead and Woodford has always been a bit of a hotspot and in Wanstead there's a lot of people who want to move within the area.

"The first-time buyers aren't around as much now as it's harder for them to get mortgages, but our mortgage people think that within a few months the mortgage lenders will relax their criteria and I think it will pick up again then."