In March the number of people trying to sell their homes hit its highest level since May 2007, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said today.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the number of new loans granted to home buyers in February was 12% higher than the previous month. And annual house price inflation rose from 6.2% to 7.4% in February, according to government figures.
Cold weather and the reintroduction the old stamp duty threshold of £125,000, at the end of 2009, produced a reduction in sales and lending at the start of the year.
That led to a dip in prices in February by 0.1% according to the house price report from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). But this now seems to have passed.
The number of new mortgages granted in February was not only higher than in January but 49% up on a year ago, when the market was at its most depressed in the wake of the banking crisis.
More sellers
The RICS said in March new instructions from sellers had outstripped enquiries from would-be buyers for the third month in a row. Price increases were still more common than price falls across the UK however the surveyors' body predicted prices would stabilise in the next few months
"With the general election approaching and uncertainty growing over the political direction of the country, many vendors who were previously inclined to sit on the sidelines now appear eager to put their properties on the market," said RICS spokesperson Ian Perry.
"However, with stocks increasing and sales decreasing we may see some modest price falls in some regions although London, the South West & East and Scotland are continuing to perform well," he added.
The latest monthly RICS survey indicated that prices during March had dropped in East Anglia, Yorkshire & Humberside, the north of England, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland, but had continued to rise strongly in London, the South West & East and Scotland.
"Activity is expected to rise over the coming months” said the RICS.
Prices
An apparent shortage of properties for sale has been cited by most commentators as the main reason for the surprising rise in house prices, which started in spring 2009.
Although the precise scale of the rebound is disputed, with different figures being generated by different surveys, there is little doubt that the recent trend has been upwards.
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