The number of new buyers registering with agents continued to slow over the month. Although the number of new buyers registering with agents was up 0.4% in May, the figure was down from 2.1% in April and 4.4% in March.
The volume of new listings also slowed, up 2.2% compared to 4.8% in April.
It took about 9.3 weeks to sell a property on average and the sale price as a proportion of asking price has increased to 93.2%.
The improvements were concentrated in southern England and were not representative of a general trend across the country.
Demand in London saw a rise ahead of supply over the three months to May and prices moved up 1.4%.
In contrast demand across the northern regions rose by 9% while supply was down 28%.
Hometrack said that increased mortgage rates and mounting concerns over the impact of the eurozone on the UK’s economic growth and employment were likely to keep demand and prices in check over the summer.
Richard Donnell, director of Research at Hometrack, said: “The national market registered a slowdown in both demand and sales agreed while supply coming onto the market continued to rise.
“The impetus for growth in London came from the largely domestic markets of South West, South East and North London where prices grew by 1.1%, 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.”
