Demand for homes in biggest surge since 2008

Buyers came back to the UK housing market in their droves in February, figures from the property sales site Hometrack revealed.

The number of potential buyers registered with agents over the month rose by 18 per cent – the strongest surge in buyer interest since the market downturn of 2008.

They were rewarded with a marked increase in properties being marketed for sale, with January seeing a 10 per cent rise in housing stock.

However although buyer interest continued to outpace supply, asking prices remained unchanged across the UK. A small increase in London homes was offset by price falls across six regions – largely in the North and Midlands.

"Agents have used the pick-up in demand to claw back some of the discount between asking and achieved prices," said Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack. "The proportion of the asking price being achieved jumped to 92.9 per cent in February, up 0.4 per cent over the month – the highest level since September 2010."