Liverpool buyers turned away

Tony Santoro from Laing+Simmons Liverpool said he had been forced to turn down buyers due to a shortage of available housing in the area.

“Most of the new dwellings to hit the market are sold within a couple of days,” he said.

He believes buyer interest has been fuelled by low interest rates.

Mr Santoro said the combination of high demand and low supply was pushing up Liverpool property prices.

“The undersupply of new homes is placing significant pressure on the property market and is resulting in inflated house prices, making the dream of home ownership unattainable for first home buyers,” he said.

“Buyers are having to pay record prices just to enter the market, while many simply have to wait and hope that things improve.”

To address the issue, Mr Santoro called on the government to fast-track new land releases.

“In many cases, the government makes promises about plans for new land releases to help satisfy demand, but the delay between an announcement and the land actually hitting the market can often take years," he said.

"New land releases are critical to meeting current buyer demand, but they need to be fast-tracked."