Spring bloom for property market

More house hunters are coming out of the woodwork

UK house prices slowed down slightly in March, enough to lure more house hunters back to the market, according to the latest Hometrack survey.

Average prices fell by 0.1% - the smallest drop for over six months - leaving the average price of a property in England and Wales at £162,300.

Agreed home sales rose by 16.5% and the amount of time it took to sell a house fell from 7.6 weeks to 7.4 weeks.

The largest price falls were in Northumberland and South Yorkshire.

Meanwhile, London and Derbyshire enjoyed the biggest rises in house prices.

Buyers return

The property research company noted that the number of buyers registered on estate agents' books rose by 6.2% on the month, only the second time that the number of buyers registered has risen since May last year.

Buyers are no longer getting the discounts off the asking prices they were earlier in the year, again suggesting the market is improving John Wriglesworth, Hometrack

As a result, any discounts being negotiated on asking prices have dropped.

Despite the 0.1% drop in March, house price deflation over the past nine months looks set to end, Hometrack believes.

Chancellor Gordon Brown's decision to raise the stamp duty thresholds in the Budget is expected to lift buyer confidence and inject a bit more life into the market.

And interest rates look set to remain stable in the months leading up to a probable May election.

"An increase in the number of buyers, helping boost the number of sales agreed, points to a much stronger market in the coming months," said Hometrack's housing economist John Wriglesworth.

"Buyers are no longer getting the discounts off the asking prices they were earlier in the year, again suggesting the market is improving."