Palmer House is one the properties the provincial government has declared as surplus. (Google Streetview)

It's been four months since the Alward government put three historic houses near the legislature in Fredericton up for sale , but there have been no takers yet.

The properties — Palmer House, Scovil House and Johnston House — had been declared surplus and put on the market in an effort to cut costs and bring in revenue.

Real estate agent Noreen Barwise says one of the problems in selling such properties is that any renovations must conform to regulations from the Heritage Trust.

"They're very particular about the exterior of the building," she said.

"They really don't encourage any changes. This presents a problem when it comes to windows because most of the windows in the older houses aren't that efficient, and would require replacements."

In addition, the historic properties have been used as offices, making it an expensive prospect to renovate them back to homes, said Barwise.

Still, she's convinced they will sell.

"There are unique buyers who will come from unpredictable places. We've had some people from overseas buy property in Fredericton and renovate them," said Barwise.

"But they need to be presented in such a way that the buyers understand what it is they're buying.

"They may very well be sold as cutting edge offices, in which case they would need a fair amount of renovations."

One of the buildings, Palmer House, located on Church Street, was built in 1870 as an upper-class private residence and was used most recently as the office of the Provincial Capital Commission, which was eliminated last year.

The distinguished Second Empire style building, which is listed at $550,000, has 13 rooms and four bathrooms, but no kitchen.

Scovil House, a Queen Anne Revival-style home, built in 1904, has all the amenities of a typical house, including a kitchen, as well as a winding staircase, an ornate carved fireplace mantel and stained glass windows. It is listed at $500,000.

Despite the lack of sales, the government has not lowered the asking prices.

"We're not going to give them away for nothing," Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams had said.

The provincial government had also said if the sales went well it would put additional properties on the market.