THE number of people looking for new homes soared by 37 per cent in January, says the professional body for estate agents.

House-hunters "flooded the market", says NAEA Propertymark, and the supply of homes for sale also increased, as did the number of sales agreed.

The trade body says 2018 "started with a boom" as demand from prospective house-hunters rose. Back in December 2017, estate agents had an average 268 potential buyers per branch - compared to 367 in January 2018. This was the highest figure since September 2017, when there were 394 house-hunters per branch.

January also saw an influx of sellers marketing their homes. The supply of houses for sale increased to an average 36 per branch, up from 33 in December.

However, increased competition for homes could well be "stifling" first-time buyers, says the professional body for estate agents. The proportion of sales made to them fell to 27 per cent in January, down from 32 per cent in December.

Commenting on the figures, NAEA Propertymark chief executive Mark Hayward said: “As we usually see in January, buyers and sellers have re-entered the market after the festive slow-down and triggered an uplift in the number of sales agreed.

"While this is good news for the market generally, the increased competition seems to have affected first-time buyers, who generally have less bargaining power when it comes to bidding for properties.

“Our members have noticed first-time buyers holding off on making purchases typically outside of London, and saving for longer to maximise the full stamp duty relief.

"They’re skipping the ‘first time home’ and moving straight onto their second homes to avoid growing out of their property in four or five years and facing the cost of stamp duty. This is a smart move and an example of how first-time buyers are making legislation work to their advantage."