The housing market is active and buoyant, so put your house up for sale now if you want to take advantage of the current market conditions - so comes the advice from local members of the UK's largest network of independent estate agents.

Members of the Home Sale Network throughout the UK are seeing an increasing number of home-buyers and expect the market to become even more active as spring approaches and in the run up to Easter at the end of March. However, HSN members warn that if you are looking to sell your home you should make sure you check out the quality of your estate agent prior to instructing them.

Richard Tucker, Director of the Home Sale Network, said: "Traditionally, at this time of year the housing market goes into a sort of early spring high. With more buyers looking for homes, the greater demand creates an ideal market for house sellers, often resulting in sellers achieving better than expected prices or faster selling times."

But Mr Tucker adds that if you are selling your home, you should check the knowledge and professionalism of the estate agency, as well as the quality of the services they provide.

He confirms that a good professional estate agent should be proactive in every aspect of the sale. Progressing not only the sale of your house but liaising with solicitors, conveyancers and the other estate agents in the chain as well.

For prospective buyers, a good estate agent should have the detailed local knowledge to provide comprehensive information on the area, on local schools, amenities and facilities, be able to help with maps of the area and be able to answer local questions - on anything from council tax to cable-TV access.

Mr Tucker, points out: "Some people choose an estate agent simply because they have a national name, while others appoint whichever agent provides the highest valuation of the home or the lowest commission fee, disregarding how skilled, knowledgeable, trained, or equipped they are.

"When selecting an estate agent, you are recruiting a company to do a vitally important job for you - so you should use all the normal recruitment techniques, including visiting their offices, interviewing the company's staff, checking their commission rates and resources for marketing your house, finding out how many houses they have on their books and how many they sell each month. It is vitally important to establish the service you expect from your agent at your outset. This way you can do all you can to ensure the sale of your greatest asset is in reputable hands."