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Estate Agents Say Enquiries at Four Year High
UK househunters have reached their highest average levels for four years, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has reported.
According to the NAEA’s September housing market report, the number of people registering to look for homes per branch rose from 304 in August to 308 in September, the highest level since September 2007, when a figure of 326 was recorded.
Wendy Evans-Scott, president of the NAEA, said: "It is encouraging to see that the number of enquiries is increasing, but sellers need to be very realistic when pricing their property in order to secure a sale in what is still a very cautious market.
"The number of first-time buyers on the market has increased slightly over the course of the month, however our agents are reporting widespread regional variation. “Lending still remains a real barrier to homeownership for this part of the market."
The number of houses available for sale also increased from 65 per branch to 72 across August and September, the highest level for three months, while the number of sales remained the same with around eight per branch.
The percentage of sales to first-time buyers increased, moving from 20% in August to 22% in September.
