People selling homes in the region are prepared to hang on for a higher bid because of an underlying confidence in the market, a new study revealed today.

Research from the Yorkshire Bank showed a marked contrast between the north and the south of the country, with homeowners in the south willing to accept lower bids if they can guarantee the transaction will be completed quickly.

However, just one in six of those quizzed in the north felt there was a similar pressure on them to accept a low bid, with the majority still confident that a higher offer will emerge.

Gary Lumby, head of personal financial services at Yorkshire Bank, said: "Reports of prices falling in parts of the South of England and houses taking longer to sell has certainly affected the sentiment of sellers. They are on the look-out for people able to complete quickly, even if that means accepting less than they might have hoped for."

The survey also showed that more than half of those quizzed in the north were optimistic about the future of the housing market and believed prices would continue to rise, while just four per cent predicted a slump in prices.

Mike Skelton, Yorkshire area spokesman for the National Association of Estate Agents, said the survey results partly reflected the relatively modest growth in house prices in the north compared with the south.

But he warned: "There is a feeling that everybody feels that house prices are slowing down everywhere apart from in their own town. Although prices have risen significantly across the country and houses are now relatively expensive, prices in the north are still a fair way behind the south."

He said there had also been a tendency for sellers in the south to demand unrealistic prices, meaning they would then be more willing to accept a lower offer.

Patrick McCutcheon, area director for estate agents Dacre, Son & Hartley, said homeowners were often given misleading impressions in national press reports about the state of the market.

"The key is to look at what is going on locally," he said. "We had quite a patchy September, but it bounced back in October. November saw the arrival of the winter market sooner than expected but I think there is an underlying feeling of confidence in the marketplace.

"We have had a lot of people wanting to look at properties in the New Year and that is mainly people looking to move sideways or up the market.

"There is certainly not an indication that people are looking to bail out at the top of the market. People are reasonably positive about what's going to happen next year."