More house hunters than for five years, says National Association of Estate Agents

The number of house hunters rose in January to its highest level in five years, the NAEA has claimed.

Nationwide reported that the average house price for February stood at £162,638 – a 0.2% rise from January and unchanged from a year ago.

Nationwide said that the housing market remains subdued, although it said it was hopeful of a pick-up through the Funding for Lending scheme. The more bullish NAEA says the average number of applicants registering with an agent increased from 281 in December to 314 in January. This is the highest figure since September 2007, when an average of 326 house hunters was recorded.

The NAEA says that the year started on a strong note with a rise in the percentage of sales made to first-time buyers. In January, 25% of sales were to first-time buyers, up from 21% in December, marking a two-year high.

The increase in demand impacted the number of sales agreed in January, which rose from an average of five per branch to seven. The number of properties for sale per branch fell from 58 to 56.

NAEA President Mark Hayward said: “These latest results reflect a wider upturn in the market at the start of what we hope will be a better year for UK property.

“The strong number of inquiries during January suggests the financial barriers that have plagued the market for so many years may be beginning to ease as banks increasingly look at new ways to assist buyers.

“Strong financial results from some of the country’s leading house builders this week suggest a growing confidence that some form of a recovery is beginning to take shape.”

Meanwhile, the Land Registry, reporting on prices of second-hand homes, said that in January, the average house price in England and Wales was £162,441, a rise of 1% from the month before and also over the year.The rise was fuelled by a 7.1% annual increase in London house prices, standing at £373,207 in January. This also represented a 2.5% monthly rise.

However, its latest transactions data show a decrease. From August to November, an average of 58,947 homes in England and Wales changed hands per month, down from 61,595 for the same period in 2011.#

The Land Registry data has started to include information on repossessions. It says that between August and November, repossession volumes averaged 1,536 per month, down from 1,833 per month for the same period the year before.

Article from Estate Agent Today