More good news? February sales up by a quarter, says Hometrack

Green shoots continued?

There are tentative signs of both a jump in demand and sales.

House prices nudged down in February by just 0.2%, Hometrack has reported, while sales agreed shot up by 25.4% on January’s number.

The slight fall in house prices was the lowest monthly decline for six months.

Time on the market also fell slightly, to ten weeks, down from 10.2 weeks in January. It was the first time in a year that time on the market has fallen.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: “The February survey shows a relatively strong seasonal pick-up in demand compared to recent years. There was a 14.7% increase in new buyers registering with agents – the highest monthly increase for two years.

“This is in stark contrast to the significant fall in demand over the final six months of 2010.

“It is likely that a significant proportion of these buyers reflect an underlying demand carried over from the second half of 2010.

“Similarly, February saw an increase in the supply of new housing coming to the market – up 7.5% – the highest monthly increase for three years.

“To a large degree this relates to the number of new homes coming to the market and the fact that many sellers are also would-be buyers. It may also reflect an increase in the volume of owners wanting to sell in advance of anticipated price falls over the course of 2011.”