The National Assoc of Estate Agents has confirmed a report earlier this week that activity in the housing market has picked up, with the number of potential sellers at its highest level for six months and the number of prospective buyers up 7%.
A Rics survey early this week showed supply picking up strongly, leading to a possible stabilisation in prices. The NAEA survey shows the number of properties on agents' books rising from an average of 56 to 60 in March.
Sales have also risen from an average of 6.8 per branch in February to 8 in March, no doubt helped by the improvement in the weather!
The number of house sellers jumped in March, to a level not seen since March 2007, just before the housing market slump. The RICS report shows that instructions from sellers outstripped enquiries from buyers for the 3rd month in a row, in a change that is likely to see a slowdown in the rise of house prices as the supply of houses increases.
The average number of unsold houses on surveyors' books increased by 6% in February to 67 per surveyor, still far short of the 90 at the peak of the market.
The number of new home loan granted to buyers in February was 12% higher than in January but more significantly, it was up 49% on a year ago.
Annual house price inflation rose to 7.4% in February from 6.2%.
The new stamp duty holiday for first time buyers that was announced in the recent budget may have sparked an increase in potential buyers. Moneysupermarket.com has seen a 15% rise in first-time buyers searching for mortgage deals in the past week. While Easter is traditionally a busy weekend for the property marketing, Savills also confirmed an unusual increase in first-time buyer activity.
