Estate agents in Kent are seeing a sharp drop in would-be buyers as new figures show more people are falling behind with mortgage repayments.

Canterbury-based estate agent Neil Boswell, director of Caxtons Residential, said just 20 potential buyers registered with the branch in April this year, compared to 81 in the same month last year.

He spoke as it was revealed the number of homeowners facing repossession orders after failing to keep up with mortgage repayments, had risen by nine per cent in the south east in the first quarter of 2008.

Mr Boswell, who is a member of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: "Volumes are definitely down. People are very reluctant to make the decision to buy, people are very much more cautious.

"It is very much quieter. There is no doubt that the economy is beginning to bite."

He said he was not aware of any agencies in the county having to close due to lack of trade. Property website Rightmove has said that up to 40 UK estate agents a week are going out of business because of the housing market slowdown.

He said trade in rented properties was "incredibly busy", reflecting the reluctance to buy, with landlords buying and selling briskly.

John Oakley, chairman of the National Association of Estate Agents in East Kent said properties were still being sold, but added: "It is quieter than it should be at this time of year."

The Ministry of Justice repossession figures showed that in the UK as a whole the number of homeowners facing repossession orders had risen by 17 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

David Stubbs senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said:

"The repossession numbers emphasise the difficulties that some homeowners are having in meeting their mortgage payments.

"This difficulty may be exacerbated over coming quarters if people who want to re-mortgage find it hard to secure an affordable rate on their new deal.

"We continue to believe that repossessions themselves will increase to around 43,000 in 2008, still well below the high point of 76,000 in 1991."