As spring rolls into summer so the British property market, already in high gear, has shifted into overdrive. ‘Up to the Easter period viewings had increased by 30% over last year, and in the weeks following we have seen a very high level of activity. A high proportion of those viewers have come back into the Firm’s offices and made solid offers’, says Mark Rimell of Property Specialists Strutt & Parker. Easter might have come late this year, but for those looking to buy and sell homes it arrived with a bang, and the momentum has continued into May.

To take just one example, Strutt & Parker launched a small country house near the M25 onto the market in mid-April. The asking price was £1.25 million and there were well over 50 viewings. A dozen people made offers and the property will sell comfortably over the guide price.

As Mark Rimell adds, ‘We are still advising vendors to price and market their homes realistically, but the amount of interest is very satisfying. This is true right across the price ranges.

‘There is a lot of confidence in the market – at levels we haven’t seen for quite a while. Overall, employment is high, interest rates remain low and the stock market is very strong. Most importantly there’s no reason to think that any of these factors will change.’

In London and the South East – and indeed nowadays further out too – strong bonuses in The City are making a worthwhile and very positive impact on the housing market. It doesn’t benefit just the relatively small number of dealers who receive the bonuses, but knocks on to a much wider number of other professionals and suppliers. High-earners are confident enough of conditions to be spending money, and that rapidly flows down the economic pyramid.

Looking ahead Mark Rimell suggests that the current rate of activity will be sustained through the rest of this month and on into June. ‘The Firm’s Newbury office arranged 117 viewings in the first week of May alone, and there’s no doubt that we will remain this busy for a good while. We will inevitably see less activity in the holiday months of July and August, as we do every year. Until then though the market should remain buoyant.

‘The message for any home-owner thinking of putting his or her house on the market is not to delay. Brief an estate agent now and the chances are you’ll be able to move over the summer – which is especially important for families who are moving areas and are therefore taking their children to new schools in September’.