NAEA Propertymark has just released its January Housing Report, which revealed that demand from prospective house-hunters increased by more than a third (37%) in January.

In December 2017, agents registered 268 house-hunters per branch, compared to 367 in January. This is the highest figure since September 2017, when there were 394 registered per estate agent branch.

However, in line with rising demand, January saw an influx of sellers marketing their properties – the supply of available properties increased to 36 per branch on average, from 33 in December.

Mark Hayward, chief executive at NAEA Propertymark, said:“As we usually see in January, buyers and sellers have re-entered the market after the festive slow-down and triggered an increase in the number of sales agreed. While this is good news for the market generally, the competition seems to have affected FTBs, who generally have less bargaining power when it comes to bidding for properties.

“Our members have noticed FTBs holding off on buying the ‘first time home’ and moving straight onto their second homes, to avoid growing out of their property in four or five years and facing the cost of (double) stamp duty. This is a smart move and an example of how FTBs are making legislation work to their advantage.”