The recent drop in house prices has led to an increase in the number of new property enquiries from buyers and owner-occupiers.
A recent increase in property enquiries is the result of falling prices and attractive mortgage rates, new research from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has claimed.
The organisation polled its members to discover what factors have led to an upturn in interest from potential home buyers. Over 70 percent of chartered surveyors said low prices are responsible for increased enquiries.
A further 48 percent said that buyers believe that house prices are reaching the bottom line and are moving fast to take advantage of attractive deals. Reduced mortgage rates were cited as a reason for increased interest by 35 percent of chartered surveyors.
Owner-occupiers are said to be expressing the most interest in properties, with almost three quarters of those polled suggesting that buyers from this group are behind renewed interest in the market. However first-time buyers were named as the main audience by 23 percent of surveyors.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, explained: "Interest from owner occupiers is likely to persist over the comings months as those with large deposits look to capitalise on the drop in house prices.
"However, a sharply deteriorating employment picture may eat away at this improvement in sentiment pushing potential buyers back to the sidelines."
He suggested that the government needs to intervene to improve mortgage availability and "help restore an orderly housing market".
