There has been a dramatic increase in transaction levels, says Edward Church, of Strutt and Parker.

Their latest figures echo the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ report of a marked rise both in new buyer inquiries (growing at the fastest rate in 10 years), and in number of sales.

The level of transactions recorded by Strutt & Parker this May is up 20 per cent over the previous month and up an amazing 35 per cent compared with last May.

Viewing levels are also up nearly 10 per cent year on year, and even higher month on month, with a 16.5 per cent increase this May to the previous month.

Despite the fact that viewings and sales are on the up – evidence of pent up demand and activity – the actual number of houses for sale has fallen by 30 per cent since May 2008.

What does this mean? Does it signal that the house market is showing signs of recovery?

With 30 per cent of the company’s houses across Kent under offer at the present moment, and with new offers coming in regularly, Mr Church certainly thinks this could be the case.

He believes that the two principal factors determining the market are supply and demand – and sentiment.

The May statistics demonstrate that demand is clearly there, but supply is short.

Confidence is slowly returning – buyers seem less nervous as they conclude that (first-time buyers aside) banks are relaxing and allowing them a bit more flexibility.

Mr Church predicts that the lack of supply could force the market to bottom out sooner than the sceptics are predicting.

"Nobody has a crystal ball," he said, "but the signs are indicating that we are near the bottom of the market.

"The conclusion to all these statistics surely indicates that as demand is high and supply is down, now is a good time to put your house on the market, if you are thinking of selling."