Numbers looking buy homes fall to three-year low amid Brexit uncertainty

House-hunter numbers dwindled to a three-year low in May amid the uncertainty over the EU referendum, estate agents have reported.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) recorded an average of 304 house-hunters registered per member branch in May.

This was the lowest figure since November 2013, when 292 buyers were registered per branch. Demand from potential buyers was down by more than a fifth (21%) compared with May last year, the report said.

As the number of potential buyers fell, there was also a drop-off in the number of properties being snapped up for more than the asking price. One in 20 (5%) agents across the UK saw this happen in May, compared with nearly one in 10 (9%) in April.

Some 27% of completed sales in May were to first-time buyers, up by one percentage point compared with April. There have been suggestions that greater uncertainty in the market and softer prices may give aspiring first-time buyers more opportunities to get on the property ladder in the coming months.

The average number of properties available for sale per branch increased from 35 in April to 37 last month.

In May, more than two-fifths (41%) of estate agents predicted prices would fall and three in 10 (30%) expected demand would decrease in the event of a vote to leave the EU.

Mark Hayward, managing director of the NAEA, said: "Although in the short term, we believe that house prices will remain stable, we cannot be certain about the next quarter as political uncertainty and market unrest could affect the housing market."

In the longer term, a Brexit could impact on the skills needed to drive property developments, he warned, adding that further housing supply shortages could spell more surges in prices as buyers struggle to find a suitable property.

There have been suggestions that the weakened pound following the Brexit vote could prompt more foreign investors to buy properties in the UK, particularly in London.

NAEA London representative Jonathan Hudson, who runs property agency Hudsons in central London, said: "We have seen a spike in enquiries from overseas."

Mr Hudson said the uncertain market could hand some buyers more opportunities to take their time viewing properties and make calculated judgments while other potential house-hunters are taking a pause.