Rightmove finds buyers are searching but sellers are scarce
A study carried out by Rightmove has found that while would-be property buyers are scouring the internet for good deals, few sellers are coming to market.
The organisation discovered that there were 44 million property searches on the website in the first 10 days of 2012, up by 27 per cent on the same period in 2011.
However, estate agents are now marketing less than one new property per week, while prices have risen by 1.4 per cent.
It was suggested that a shortage of sellers is underpinning prices, while the "ongoing mortgage famine" is holding back pent-up demand from buyers.
The 'winners' for 2012 were seen as being first-time buyers with good deposits, people with enough equity to trade up and people selling properties with a difference, while 'losers' this year are expected to be trapped renters and those unwilling or unable to offer a cut-price deal.
Rightmove's Miles Shipside said: "The market is stuck in a low transaction volume pit that will be hard to escape from without the mortgage funding to satisfy what appears to be strong pent-up demand."
He also suggested that the recent recession means sellers should be researching their area carefully and putting properties up for sale at an appropriate price, rather than taking a punt to see what happens.
Last month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said it believes that gross lending for the whole of 2011 will reach £138 billion, amounting to net lending of £9 billion.
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