The first quarter is looking the best time to sell a home this year, as demand dramatically outstrips supply, reports a major network of agents.

Hamptons International report 7% fewer properties on their books than last February, as properties sold are not being replaced with new stock.

Fresh stock for sale is materialising, but it is patchy and certainly not enough to meet huge demand, they report using data collated from their UK network of over 50 residential sales branches covering London, the South and West of England.

In the Capital viewings were up 43%, with 87% more buyers and offers up 73%. Agreed sales were up 105% and exchanges up 123% - but stock is down by 8%.

Country Sales Director, David Adams said, “February was a record month for requests for valuations. This suggests that in the country regions there will be enough properties to satisfy demand. Following the predicted 7% increase in prices in the first quarter of 2004 it is likely that prices will level and hold until the end of the year.”

However, Adams highlights the fact that by far the largest proportion of those who have received valuations are waiting until after Easter before deciding what to do, suggesting that we will see considerable uplift in the number of properties coming to the market in late April, May and June.

Whether the uplift in demand for properties also increases, or whether this increase in the number of available properties will satisfy the present high level of demand is, he believes at this stage, difficult to tell:

Conversely – and most notably - market appraisals rose by only 1% in London. This clearly underlines the ongoing shortage of sales stock in the capital. The London market saw an influx of new properties during the month (up 12%), which was welcome news to branches in the capital.