Why is there so little property for sale? "At this time of year there is traditionally talk of lack of stock," says Michael Fiddes, who heads the National Estate Agency Department of property agents, Strutt & Parker. "There are other factors to consider, too, such as this being an election year. A lot of potential vendors are sitting on their hands. People are waiting until the spring market, which has become more and more important over recent years. If there is still a shortage in April and May, that will be more significant."

After a deep and lasting recession, there is a great deal of caution from sellers. Pricing is more difficult to decide on, and it is no good simply putting together a brochure or putting a property on a website and thinking that is enough. "It is more important than ever to get detailed professional advice on your best options," says Fiddes. Good agents will be flexible, reactive and tuned to your own specific circumstances and expectations. "In some ways we are more like a broker these days."

For buyers, there is a lot of competition for the best houses and it is crucial to be ready to move, with finance in place, when something good does come along. "Anyone sitting on their hands waiting for the right kind of house is going to be disappointed. We have many buyers sitting in rental accommodation absolutely ready to go."

For vendors, using an estate agent that has serious buyers in place will ensure that, at a time when financing can be problematic, there is no time wasted and opportunities missed. "We have had a number of properties recently that have sold to buyers we knew immediately would be right," says Fiddes.

Strutt & Parker is seeing more clients who want to sell discreetly, partly as a hangover from when the market was very bad. "They feel the worst possible thing is to have properties that are sitting around unsold, so they prefer to test the market quietly," comments Fiddes. 

But whatever approach you want to take, you need to value intelligently, and not because of statistics in the press or what people used to pay. "In this market, the difference between the advertised price and the expected return can be significant," says Fiddes. "You can get a premium price, provided you are pitched at the right level to the right people. It's about quality rather than quantity. In a good market, you will find the ratio of viewers to every sale about 20 to 1. At the moment it is more like 6 to 1, but they are serious buyers who will compete for a good house."

And Fiddes is far from put off by the current state of the market. "We have had a number of good sales recently. A relative shortage is better than a glut - people forget that when there is a lot more competition, it can be a lot harder to sell properties."