Countrywide have reported marginal improvements in the residential housing sector, with buyer, tenant and mortgage applications increasing in February.

The company revealed that property viewings - one of the leading indicators of buyer appetite - increased by 40% in February across Countrywide’s network of 1,300 offices. The number of sales agreed also rose by 47% in February; however, overall sales volumes were 4% lower than the same period last year.

Despite a marginal increase in the number of properties available to rent in February, Countrywide report that a lack of supply remains an area of concern because tenant demand in the private rental sector jumped by 11%, with over 19,000 new tenants registering for rental accommodation in February.

Countrywide’s 650 mortgage consultants revealed a 40% increase in mortgage applications last month fixed rate mortgages dominating the 10 most popular mortgage products, reaching their highest level since July 2009 and making up 88% of all mortgage applications in February, up 4% on January.

Grenville Turner, chief executive at Countrywide said: “We are beginning to see some early signs of improvement in the property market, whether this can be sustained against a backcloth of challenging economic conditions is difficult to determine. The reintroduction of competitive mortgage products is the key to turn the increase in buyer activity we’ve seen into house sales. Gathering a deposit remains a big hurdle for many would-be buyers. With four of the most popular mortgages applied for in February requiring a 10% deposit, this shows that the level of demand for these types of mortgages and highlights the issue of affordability.”