Given the amount of activity we have seen in the last few weeks, I would expect to see this figure increase further in the coming months as the traditional Spring uplift filters through.

Taken together with the latest report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, (RICS), that says that the number of sellers has hit the highest level since May 2007 it would seem that a healthy property market is returning.

However,  the fact that many people seem a little non-plussed about the forthcoming General Election has caused a fair amount of uncertainty in the property market, which means we may see figures tail off slightly in the immediate run-up and aftermath of the election.

The good news, however, is that competition is returning to the market and there are now some very competitive rate offerings especially where fixed rates are concerned which are starting to attract remortgage customers back into the market. With 2 year fixed rates now available from as low as 2.98% and with the lowest Bank Variable Rate at 2.5% it is more than realistic to expect that rates will have to rise by more than 0.5% over the next 2 years.

Once the election, and the World Cup, is out of the way, whilst I do not expect activity to jump significantly, I do expect moderate growth in activity for the remainder of the year as long as mortgage funding remains no less available than it is at present.

No doubt the recent changes in stamp duty for First-Time Buyers will assist and it is this key demographic that needs to be nourished in order for the housing market as a whole to flourish.

With the General Election looming these figures suggest that property purchases will continue to tail off until a new government is firmly in place and people know who, and what, they are dealing with.

While we may see a slight uplift due to stamp duty changes for first time buyers and people buying property above £1m wanting to move before the year is out, this is unlikely to occur until after the next Budget.

It’s encouraging to see that remortgages are up. More and more homeowners, who have been sitting on an SVR for some time, are starting to remortgage while rates are still as low as they are. In many cases, increased lender competition has pushed rates down to levels that are below many SVRs, so it makes sense to remortgage.

Borrowers are aware that the current low interest rate environment will not go on forever and that it may be good to remortgage now while they are still ahead.

Looking forward, we’re not expecting borrowing levels to accelerate significantly in the run-up to the General Election, and they may even fall back slightly post-Election.

Come the second half of the year we’ll know far more about how the mortgage and residential property markets are likely to fare in the short term.

While it’s considerably easier to get a mortgage than it was a year ago, it is still considerably more difficult — and rightly so — than three years ago.

There has been a slight improvement in product availability and rates in the 80%-85% LTV range, although at 90% loan to value the market is still very limited.

Borrowers need to be aware that the days of sitting pretty on an SVR are coming to an end, as we have seen most tellingly with the recent increase in Skipton Building Society’s standard variable rate.

As far as interest rates are concerned you could argue, as I have said before, that Bank Base has now entered a new phase – I call it “the expectation phase”. This is where many people expect a change but are not quite sure when, or by how much, and it is this expectation that can be a driver for all manner of decisions.

The real issue is how all of us are going to be affected as the artificial stimulus is slowly removed. As the end of QE, the car scrappage scheme, VAT concessions, etc, begin there are some real questions to be answered, not least is that the possibility of a second mortgage shortage is rearing its head as lenders struggle to find the cash to lend out.

I have always thought that this year will be “front-end loaded”, in other words that there will be better mortgage products, lower rates and more mortgage availability in the first half of the year than the latter.

This means that whilst it feels like things are improving now, with property prices recovering and lenders looking to lend at higher Loan-To-Values do not be surprised if it all turns around again after the election and the hiatus of the World Cup.

However, whilst things will remain tough for the remainder of the year, the positive signs and shifting in attitudes is everywhere to be seen and just as it will not take much to tip into the dark again, likewise it may not take too much to grab the reigns of a recovery. A decisive election, or rather whoever is elected, (hung parliament or not), delivering a decisive budget, together with a successful World Cup to harness the good feeling would help inordinately.

We have seen a massive rise in enquiry levels, from purchasers wanting to take advantage of low rates and competitive house prices, to remortgage customers looking at fixing before variable rates inevitably rise. As soon as there is any decisive action on rates, or the mere sniff of it, I expect fixed rates to burst with popularity and rise accordingly.

For first time buyers I do not see much change in the current status quo. Whilst there will be more availability of products aimed at the lifeblood of the housing market, a decent deposit, a good credit history and a sensible level of borrowing to income will remain for a long time yet. This means that without the Bank of Mum & Dad stepping in to assist those looking enviously at the property market now need to carry on saving like crazy.