The 214 per cent rise in sales of new-build properties in London has come as no surprise to one housing expert.

David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes.com, said that many people in the housing market were unfazed by this statistic and referred to recent newspaper headlines which had done much to indicate the findings already.

Talking about the industry, he said: "Affordable finance for buy-to-let investors remains especially hard to come by as mortgage companies continue to restrict lending."

He observed that this lent authority to the popular notion that owner-occupiers are creating the high demand for new-build properties.

According to Knight Frank, this rise by over 200 per cent came in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the current supply of housing stock is now down by 20 per cent, compared with 2008.

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Written by Emily Sanders