All the signs point to this being a good time for house buyers, says Gill Lamprell, head of southern residential development at Knight Frank

The UK housing market has been surprisingly robust in recent months and this summer has been remarkably busy.

August is historically a quiet time of year for the property market but the recent spring-like uplift in interest from potential purchasers and evidence of offers at or above asking price is a sure sign that buoyancy is returning.

Price growth can be put down to the fact there are so few properties actually available on the market and very low sales volumes earlier this year, but the slide in house prices has been halted and, in some areas, reversed.

On average, house prices have risen six per cent since the beginning of 2009. The average UK house price now stands at £158,871, according to the Nationwide.

There have been recent murmurs of further price falls, but as far as we can see there is no evidence of this and there are no indicators to show this might happen in our market. In RICS’ latest housing market forecast it predicts that at the end of 2009 average house prices will be slightly higher than they were at the end of last year.

So, with this in mind, it is now a good time for buyers to make their move. Current market conditions give buyers a little bit more negotiating power without the risk of being caught in a fast-pace rising market.

As soon as the market gathers pace and buyers catch on, we’ll be back in a state of bidding wars and gazumping, all very disruptive and often costly. In today’s market, buyers have a little more time to ensure they’re making the right decision and can get their mortgage funds in place and make an offer, but this won’t be for long.

The time of year has meant there has been increased interest from families – many have wanted a quick purchase to make sure they are all settled in time for their children to start back at school for the autumn term.

This has highlighted that there are still very few family-sized properties available on the market. There is certainly a shortage of good-quality, spacious, new-build detached family houses in Kent, as so many developers mothballed their developments last year, meaning only a select few developments actually have been delivered. So when they become available, quality homes are snapped up relatively quickly.

For further information on new homes, please contact Knight Frank by telephone on 01483 564660 or visit the website: http://www.knightfrank.com/.