House sales for February were the highest than they had been for a year, data from the National Association of Estate Agents has shown.
On average an estate agent sold eight properties last month. This is a good sign as last August average sales were right down to five per estate agent.
A spokesman for the association said that the rise, which led on from promising signs in January, indicated an encouraging increase in buyer interest adding that more people were now prepared to invest in property due to savings accounts yielding low interest at the present time.
Recently, there has been a spurt of interest in the property market with eager first-time buyers who only needed access to finance in order to make a purchase. The February figures for first-time buyers remained at 24 per cent, over twice that for December.
However, the spokesman added that buyers needed more financial assistance to enable them to buy their first home. Sellers remain cautious in an unpredictable market. They are tending to wait for six months or so in the hope that house prices will rise.
The average number of properties that estate agents have available for sale is 74 at present. This is down by only one from 75 last year, suggesting a plateau in the housing market.
Those putting their homes on the market are having to accept on average 7.15 per cent below the price they originally asked for.
The situation is good for buyers but unfavourable to sellers. The number of people who consider it a good time to buy a property is now 54 per cent as compared to 46 per cent in December and a low 27 per cent in June.
