A leading London estate agency has contradicted many of its rivals after claiming that buyers are flooding back into the market and that the much-reported Brexit standstill in the capital is over.

The comments come from Chestertons’ CEO Guy Gittins, who says his company has enjoyed its strongest start to any year since the peak of the market in 2014, and that the downturn is ‘bottoming out’.

Chestertons has published figures to back-up its claims, revealing that revenues at its lettings division increased by 17% year-on-year, while its sales teams reported a moderate increase of 3%.

Gittins claims the increased revenues are down to both a recent internal cost-cutting exercise but also a ‘surge’ in the number of buyers and tenants in the market.

More buyers, more viewings

During the first three months of the year Chestertons says it registered 36% more buyers, completed 13% more viewings and achieved 12% more exchanges compared to the year before.

But its report also reveals the scale of the challenge in London; the number of new properties coming on to the market dropped 21% year-on-year, it says.

In Lettings, 23% more tenants registered and 17% more offers made, both of which have resulted in a 5% increase in new tenancies agreed.

“With Brexit seemingly still some time away, the pent-up demand from these buyers has started to be released and turned into sales activity, as seen by our figures from the first quarter of the year,” says Gittins.

Chestertons says it is also looking for more rental portfolios to acquire.