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Estate agents report rise in buyer enquiries

Wednesday, 20 April 2011 2:42 PM

The housing market saw an increase in buyer enquiries last month, according to figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

In its market report for March, the organisation noted the typical estate agent had 290 new house-hunters register in the month, up from 268 in February.

At a growth of 8.2 per cent month-on-month, the NAEA said this represented a "sharp rise” in the number of property enquiries.

First-time buyers accounted for a slightly lower proportion of transactions than in the previous month, as February's 25 per cent figure fell to 23 per cent.

However, the NAEA added that this was no cause for concern, as it was in line with year-on-year trends.

President Michael Jones commented: "We are very pleased to see that the market has remained relatively stable despite the continued economic pressures that are making life very difficult for homeowners and those looking to enter the property market."

The increase in demand was accompanied by a decrease in supply that might be expected, given the greater number of people house-hunting.

Available properties per estate agent's branch fell from 70 in February to 68 in March, although the typical number of agreed sales stayed at eight per estate agent.

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