Estate agents: buyers released from ‘wait and see’ limbo are set for spring surge

The RICS Residential Market Survey for February is out today. Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Homebuyers have been released from their ‘wait and see’ limbo, and are set for a spring surge.

“In February, the number of buyers and sellers fell for the second month in a row, as lockdown kept people in their own homes and the government remained tight-lipped about the future of the Stamp Duty holiday. Sales were broadly flat, but a shortage of stock meant prices kept rising.

“Details of the stamp duty holiday extension emerged when three quarters of the survey was already complete, but those who replied afterwards were expecting sales to pick up again in the spring, as both buyers and sellers rushed back to the market to take advantage of the tax break.

“Houses with gardens, those in market towns and villages, and homes with space for homeworking and home-schooling are particularly in demand. It means we can expect the price rises of detached houses to continue outstripping those for flats in the coming months.”