MORE than £5m of luxury apartments in a flagship city centre development have been sold in less than a week.

Agents Knight Frank said yesterday that two-thirds of the apartments, in Freeman's Quay, part of Amec's Walkergate development in Durham City, were snapped up within 48 hours of going on sale.

A week after the properties were released on to the market, 33 of the 35 apartments have been sold, said a company spokeswoman.

Potential buyers were queuing up at the sales office in Millennium Place when the luxury apartments were finally released for sale, said Nicola Osborne, head of Knight Frank's residential team in the North-East.

She said: "In the buoyant market of 18 months ago, scenes like these were normal at city centre development launches across the region.

"But to sell more than two-thirds of the scheme in less than two days is remarkable in the current market conditions and the level of sales remains strong at Freeman's Quay."

The Walkergate development includes a hotel, residential apartments, bars, shops, restaurants and a 500-space multi-storey car park on the banks of the River Wear.