With developers getting ready to launch new apartment and housing developments over the coming weeks, estate agents are using the interim period to wrap up sales in a number of existing schemes. Sales in several of the developments relaunched last weekend were steady rather than hectic - most of them sold just under a dozen houses - despite the fact that prices generally were around the same level as last year.

However, agents expect prices to edge up slowly as the selling season gets into full swing after Easter. Several of the new developments in the pipeline are due to be launched off the plans to provide a degree of comfort for the builders and the banks.