UK Property Hunters Hit Record Number in August, Says FindaProperty.com

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND, November 11, 2010

More people were looking for a new property in August than ever before, according to website FindaProperty.com.

It saw record numbers of potential home buyers searching for properties on its site last month, despite concerns over the fragility of the housing market and fears of a possible 'double dip' in house prices.

August is traditionally one of the quietest months of the year in the property market, but FindaProperty.com attracted a record 4m unique visitors, up 200,000 on the previous best, which was only set the month before.

The numbers searching last month were higher than at any time since FindaProperty.com launched in 1997, including during the housing boom of the Noughties.

The greatest increase in visits came from Yorkshire & Humber region, with 32% more visits to FindaProperty.com this August compared to the year before.

Region Annual increase in visitors (Aug'10 vs. Aug'09)
Yorkshire & Humber 32%
West Midlands 27%
North East England 23%
North West England 23%
Wales 22%
East of England 20%
Northern Ireland 20%
East Midlands 20%
South West England 18%
Scotland 15%
South East England 9%
London 5%

Nigel Lewis, property analyst at FindaProperty.com, said: "The housing market may remain fragile but people are still planning and researching their next property move. They are visiting our sites in record numbers to see what's available.

"But we're also seeing evidence that the number of enquiries to estate agents is up too. So it appears some people have concluded that there are bargains to be had and now is the time to snap them up, though most buyers are expressing understandable caution and taking longer over these decisions than they used to."

Meanwhile FindaProperty.com's own research shows people's attitudes towards estate agents have improved as market resilience and competitor pressure have sparked a greater focus on customer satisfaction.

Its Agent Satisfaction Survey, conducted every six months, found an 18% increase in the number of respondents who said they thought their estate agent was professional, and a 16% rise in the number who said they thought their agent addressed their questions and concerns well.

FindaProperty.com is a leading property website with a comprehensive search facility for house-hunters looking for property to buy or rent.

The site also holds independent editorial on the housing market, as well as guides to different aspects of the buying, selling and renting processes. These contain local information about council tax rates, school tables, crime rates, comments from local residents and photo albums, giving a general feel for an area.

Launched in 1997, FindaProperty.com now publishes the details of over 720,000 properties from over 10,400 agents, attracting over 3 million unique visitors and generating 74 million page impressions a month.

FindaProperty.com has tools to make home hunting easier including the ability to add notes to properties of interest, check out distances from properties to key places, and search recent property sold prices.

FindaProperty.com is recognised as a leading source of consistent and reliable UK housing market data.