A report by estate agents has revealed that for every property currently for sale on the market, there are an average five potential buyers. As the demand for properties continues to outrace the supply, each buyer has five others to compete with.

For the month of October, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has confirmed that properties offered for sale by each of its registered member was being pursued by an average of five house-hunters.

It is, however, interesting to note that the rapidly rising demand for properties in October did not convert in a rapid rise in sales. For the said month, some 7.7 properties per head were sold by estate agents, which is significantly lower than the figure for September which stood at 8.5.

In addition, the number of potential buyers also fell a little. In contrast to the September figure of 294, the recorded number for October stood at 287. Also revealed by the report was the fact that as many as 22% of the total October buyers were first-time purchasers. While this number was lower than the 26% recorded in September, it was double of the figure for October 2008.