Residential properties remain on the market for longer periods of time, FNB said on Monday after releasing its Residential Property Barometer for the second quarter of 2008.

More than 80 percent of properties remained on the market for almost four months – up from three months in the previous quarter.

Only the sale of lower income housing remained stable at 11 weeks.

The results showed that the slowest selling regions were greater Tshwane and the Western Cape.

Although the rental market had shown some signs of a short-term slow down, this segment of the industry was far more buoyant than the rest of the market, FNB said.

Furthermore, there were more people renovating their homes with the view to improve their chances of selling their properties quicker.

A lower percentage of sellers were selling to upgrade, while the percentage of people downscaling due to financial pressure rose in the second quarter.

Sapa