The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) Propertymark housing report for April revealed that, on average, estate agents had 337 house-hunters registered per branch, compared with 308 in March.

However, the supply of homes available to buy dropped from 40 on average per branch in March to just 33 in April.

“Last month, our findings indicated that we were entering what looked like a buyers’ market, but this month, the dial has swung back in the favour of sellers,” said Mark Hayward, chief executive at NAEA Propertymark.

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“With demand on the up, and the supply of available homes falling once again, buyers will find themselves facing stiff competition from other house-hunters.

“This is particularly difficult for FTBs, who traditionally have less bargaining power on price, so will [struggle] to enter bidding wars with second or third steppers. 

“The government is working to improve the house buying and selling process, which is music to our ears, but until more homes are built and supply catches up with demand, the process will remain difficult.”