THE early months of the year are officially the most popular time to buy a new home, according to authorities in the property industry. In the first week of April, the Halifax announced that demand had caused house prices to soar by 0.4 per cent during March 2002.

But it predicts that the momentum is unlikely to be maintained during the remainder of the year finishing around seven per cent higher in January 2003 as compared to January 2002. Similarly, the housebuilder Wilson Connolly has released accumulated sales figures that show that in the first quarter of any given year, 33 per cent of annual sales take place.