The number of buyers competing for every property which comes onto the market is on the rise, according to a recent report by Countrywide.
There are nearly ten potential buyers for every property on the market, research has found, with the number chasing every home continuing to rise.
There was an average of 9.7 buyers for every property coming on to the market in November 2013, compared to 8.5 in November 2012, 7.1 in November 2010 and 6.5 in November 2008, property services group Countrywide said.
The lettings market has also remained strong, with an average of 10.4 prospective tenants per property.
The group, which predicted 5% growth in house prices this year due to a ripple effect outwards from central London, said first time buyers are becoming an increasingly concentrated group, in terms of age.
It expects that by 2023 the proportion of first time buyers aged between 25 and 44 will have risen to 87%, from 67% in 2003
Tenants who have not bought a property by the time they reach their early 40s are thought increasingly unlikely to do so.
Confidence has grown among house builders and this has translated into 24% more new homes being built over the past 15 months – the highest level since 2007, the review said.
House builders have followed employment and population growth in London and the south east and 36% of all new build properties are built there, up from 26% in 2000.
Source: The Telegraph