Selling a home - the period from listing to completion - is now back to its pre-pandemic levels of 16 weeks according to agents contributing to the latest RICS survey.
It reports a net balance of +16 per cent of respondents saying they had seen an increase in new buyer demand, up from +9 per cent in December and the strongest reading since the height of the Stamp Duty holiday in May 2021.
However the market remains unusually active and strong.
At the same time there’s also been a further weakening in instructions, which some agents believe will underpin further house prices in the coming months.
“There is an inevitable question mark over the impact of rising interest rates allied to the jump in the cost of living on homebuyer sentiment,” says Simon Rubinsohn, RiCS Chief Economist.
“Notwithstanding these developing themes, for the time being the signals on the outlook for both prices and rents remains a little worrisome with the 12-month RICS indicators for both at, or near, series highs.”