May reportedly saw a big jump in the number of potential house buyers as first-timers drove the market to levels not seen since the downturn began in 2007.

According to the National Associations of Estate Agents (NAEA), four house hunters were chasing every property as agents registered an average 299 potential buyers.

This led to average sales of 10.4 per agent, the most since October 2007, the fifth consecutive monthly rise and with a very welcome 43% going to first-time buyers.

This latter was nearly double April`s 25%, and a level last seen in September 2001 - good news for homeowners wanting to trade up, and an all-round boost for the market.

Gary Smith, president of the NAEA, said: "This is really good news for the housing market and the UK economy in general.

"NAEA members are showing that there are buyers a-plenty out there. More often than not these are also potential sellers who are at the beginning of the process - so there is bound to be a lag which creates a shortage of properties in the short term."

The bounce reflects Building Societies Association research showing that 59% believe now is a good time to buy and half expect prices to increase in the coming 12 months.

Overall, the average cost of a property is expected to edge up by 1.4% in the next year, with only 27% of those questioned predicting further price falls, down from 65% in March.

However, economists have warned that while the market appears to have bottomed out, rising unemployment and shortages in the mortgage market point to further price falls.

Commentators have speculated that the shortage of homes for sale, combined with rising interest from potential buyers, may be supporting prices, although others have warned that the shortage of supply could derail any recovery.

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