SWINDON'S housing market is said to be in 'good standing' after an increase in demand from would-be-home-buyers, latest figures have shown.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has reported that there has been a 'considerable rebound' from would-be-buyers during October, with a balance of 18 per cent more surveyors in new buyer inquiries than falls.

The UK housing market has been rather subdued since 2009, but experts are predicting a rise in the run up to Christmas and New Year.

Phillip Andrews, of Phillip Andrews Estate Agents in Devizes Road, welcomed the findings of the report.

He said: “First time buyers are more than welcome in the market at any time of the year, not just Christmas, as they are buying for reasons other than investment.

“The market is in good standing, especially in Swindon where the house prices are competitive due to the many infrastructures that are here such as Honda and Intel."

First-time-buyers in the town are keen to buy their home while interest rates are low.

Kimberly Bracewell, a recent first-time-buyer of Haydon Wick, said: “I wanted to get on the property ladder before the house prices rose again and whilst the interest rates were low.”

Despite Swindon’s strong position in the housing market, the north east of England and the West Midlands saw the biggest increase in first time buyer demand with surveyors reporting a 56 per cent increase in demand compared to a 35 per cent fall.

Surveyors are hopeful that this increase in demand will lead to a rise in housing sales over the coming months.

Ian Perry, housing spokesman for RICS, said: “It seems that, with Christmas around the corner, those who are in a position to buy decided to get out there and see what is available.”

Mr Perry stressed that the market 'desperately needs' the rise in housing sales in order to stabilise.

The government is also playing its part in kick-starting the economy by introducing schemes such as its NewBuy initiative, which helps people buy a new-build home with just a 5 per cent deposit.

While these initiatives are helpful to the market, they take significant time to take effect and it is said that affordable mortgage finance is still very difficult for first time buyers.

Mr Perry said: “With the Autumn Statement around the corner, we would like to see the Government focus on delivering new homes and encouraging the banks to lend at affordable levels.”