Houses on 17 streets in the heart of Manchester's studentland are up for sale – for nearly £9m.

The huge sale takes in almost 40 homes in Withington, Fallowfield and Victoria Park – and the properties will be sold off in three job lots.

The houses contain a total of 170 bedrooms – and are on the market for £3.8m, £3.1m and £2m respectively.

It is understood that three landlords are disposing of them because they have decided to get rid of some rental properties.

The lots include properties on streets off Wilmslow Road, including Mabfield Road and Furness Road - where residents have long campaigned for a better mix of residents in the small terraced streets.

Homes on Moseley Road, where landlords have been prosecuted by Manchester council in a crackdown on extensions put up without planning permission to create extra bedrooms, are also up for sale.

Documents for the £3.1m lot of ten properties, totalling 55 bedrooms, reveal the projected annual income from renting them out for the 2013-2014 year is £175,000.

The two other lots feature 20 houses with a total of 80 bedrooms up for £3.8m across 10 Fallowfield streets and two Withington ones and a £2m lot of nine houses with 37 bedrooms between them on three streets off Moseley Road in Fallowfield.

All the properties are marketed by estate agent Flax and Co – and the company refused to comment on the sales.

The sale coincides with a continuing drop in demand for 'traditional' shared houses in south Manchester - as students opt for purpose-built halls in the city centre instead, a move welcomed by the council and residents' groups.

Anne Tucker, a member of the Platt Lane and South Rusholme Residents' Association, said: "I think some landlords thought they could make a quick buck renting houses out to students but in our street two had to move tenants out because they were too damp to live in and a lot of them are getting very tatty.

"We would love more of the houses in our area rented out to families.

"The students themselves are lovely but the problem is in summer when they all leave and it's like a ghost town.

"I think many students feel now that even if a house is well maintained, they still have to provide their own broadband, heating and lighting.

"Although halls are more per week those costs are included and they also don't have to pay over summer."

A council report last year found a drop in demand for student houses along the Wilmslow Road corridor, something the council believes is continuing as more purpose-built halls in the city centre are built.

Councillor Nigel Murphy, executive member for housing and regeneration, said:

"We believe the demand for purpose-built student accommodation is there and at the moment, the balance with supply of that is about right.

"The knock-on effect of that is on demand in traditional student areas like Fallowfield and Rusholme.

"We want to encourage a move into purpose-built accommodation to get a balance in neighbourhoods."

List of streets where homes will be sold off:

Fallowfield-

Albion Road

Braemar Road

Carill Drive

Cawdor Road

Delacourt Road

Filey Road

Furness Road

Granville Road

Landcross Road

Mabfield Road

Moseley Road

Platt Lane

Whitby Road

Withington-

School Grove

Heyscroft Road

Mauldeth Road West

Victoria Road

If you have £2M to spare and nine houses in Fallowfield don't take your fancy - how about a two bedroom apartment in Manchester city centre?

The penthouse apartment of the Leftbank buildings in Spinningfields has gone on sale at the same price - with 3,000sqft of floor space and roof terraces overlooking the River Irwell on offer.

One of the city's most expensive apartments currently on the market, it is described by estate agents City Centre Chic as 'two floors of beautiful interior design capturing both minimalism and luxury at its best'.

The apartment also has two en-suite bedrooms, two kitchens, two parking spaces and a 24-hour concierge.

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