Property search agent Tracy Kellett of BDI Home Finders is experiencing her own property crisis.
Clients, believing the market is on its way down, are refusing to pay over asking price, but stubborn vendors are not budging.
Tracy says: "It seems that estate agents are starting to price realistically but because of the lack of stock and plentiful buyers, having failed to buy in the summer, these prices are being pushed up.
"Unfortunately all my clients seem to want to do a deal and are very unkeen to enter into competitive bidding. This means we will fail to buy and no doubt they will be licking there wounds in the spring, the first time buyers still sitting in rental properties with the landlord raising the rent.
"It's simply about supply and demand. There are not enough good houses and plenty of buyers. It doesn't take a genius to see that prices for decent houses will not be spiraling down, despite the learned soothsayers.
"My advice is to bite the bullet if you are looking for a long term house. Too many people let principle stand in the way of purchasing. They hate the idea of going over asking price. They feel that they have been 'done'.
"Yet asking prices are often just a guide. Our clients are subject to whispering campaigns from friends about not buying now and screwing down the vendors. If you take that attitude you will lose out on some great homes at the moment."
