There was a sharp increase in sales agreed during March, following the chancellor’s extension to the stamp duty holiday, according to the latest index from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Demand for homes is now outstripping supply of properties listed for sale. Although new home listings have improved month on month, the pace of the increase has not been enough to keep up with demand.
However, the pipeline for new listings is expected to improve in the next few months as surveyors note a rise in requests from homeowners to have their house appraised ahead of putting the property on the market.
As demand continues to outpace supply, house prices are expected to continue rising over the next three months.
In 12 months time, 60 per cent more surveyors expect house prices to have risen than those who forecast a drop. This compares to a 46 per cent lead last month.
With the government backed mortgage guarantee scheme yet to be taken up by mainstream lenders it looks set to remain a busy market for the next few months
