The gap between asking price for a property and the price achieved has narrowed as the lockdown has eased, says Knight Frank.

Outside London, the average discount for sales was 2.4 per cent pre-lockdown. It decreased to 1.2 per cent in the week ending 6 June. Meanwhile, within the capital, those numbers come in at 6.4 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

Knight Frank Oxford head Damian Gray says that this shows that prices outside of London, “have been more realistic for a longer period of time and are therefore now showing more resilience.”

The estate agent also says that tight supply levels are putting “a brake on downwards price pressure… but more balance should return in coming months.”

It adds that a trend of buyers looking for more green space is emerging, something that the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors spoke of last week.

Indeed, Knight Frank has found that web views for properties inside the city limits are 13 per cent below the five-year average while outside the capital, 13 per cent more search traffic has been recorded.

Added to this is the finding by IPSOS Mori, also last week, that Britons are finding city living increasingly unattractive.

Alongside this, the estate agent notes that the number of offers accepted outside of London in the week to 6 June was 52 per cent higher than the five-year average, a record high.

Within London, the number of offers accepted was 34 per cent above the five-year average.

“Enquiry activity has been extraordinary. I’ve never been contacted by so many people that want to live outside London,” says Gray.

“Vendors are generally listening to advice and a lot of the property being brought to market now is being priced more realistically. Buyers, meanwhile, are happy to pay the right amount and go for it,” he adds.