Surveyors are predicting a change in buyer preferences as the latest research by the RICS shows more evidence of sentiment improving in the property market since its reopening last month.

Its Residential Market Survey for May found the net balance of surveyors reporting new buyer enquiries shifted from record lows of -94% to -5%, while 10% of respondents predicted sales were likely to rise rather than fall over the next 12 months.

A third of respondents said new sales agreed were down but this is an improvement from 93% in April.

Similarly, 20% more contributors said new instructions were falling compared with 97% who indicated this a month before

Surveyors and agents responding to the poll were also asked about any shifts in the desirability of certain properties, with 81% predicting an increase in desire for properties with gardens or balconies and 74% predict an increase in demand towards homes located near green spaces.

At the other end of the scale, 78% of respondents sense there will be a fall in the appeal of tower blocks and 58% feel properties located in highly urban areas will be less enticing.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist for the RICS, said:

“Following the reopening of the housing market in England, pre-Covid sales that were in the pipeline are now largely going through.

“This is encouraging but it remains to be seen how sustained this improvement will prove.

“Much will inevitably depend on the macro environment and, in particular, the resilience of the jobs market as the furlough scheme unwinds.

“For the time being respondents to the survey see the trend in transactions being broadly flat.

“Alongside this, there are already signs that those looking to buy a house are responding to the conditions created by the pandemic by seeking out properties with gardens or balconies and nearer green space.

“These and other similar features are likely to increasingly command a premium over higher density urban locations according to respondents to the survey.”