The demand for property is rising according to the latest data released by RICS.  Their latest survey revealed that there was another month of increased sales which assisted the last three month data.  Over the last three months there has been an average of 17.4 home sales handled by the chartered surveyors. This is the highest number reported since the first quarter of 2010. A report of 11% of the surveyors stated that there was an increase in demand in enquiries from new buyers.

Peter Bolton King, a director at RICS, said “A buoyant, healthy property market is central to economic recovery and, while these are still very much early signs, it is encouraging that sales are beginning to pick up. The increase in potential buyers getting out there and viewing property is particularly encouraging.”

The demand is expected to grow from buyers as mortgage borrowing remains cheap due to the government’s Funding for Lending Scheme. The scheme offers the opportunity to lenders to borrow for funding their loans from the government rather than the global market.  The interest rate from the government is much lower than what is found on the global market and the savings is therefore passed on to borrowers through the offer of low interest rates.

A Bank of England survey has forecasted that mortgage rates will remain low.  Homeowners that have been dealing with falling equity levels will welcome the influx of new buyers which should raise house prices.  This will enable those looking to remortgage with better equity levels a more optimistic outlook than has been offered in the past few years.  Remortgage deals are also expected to remain attractive throughout the next few months.