Rightmove said visits to its website were up 45 per cent on Wednesday morning, as email enquiries to agents leapt by 70 per cent.
And in just five hours, 2,115 new properties were listed.
Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “These are clear signs that the news from the government has prompted more home-hunters to start looking for their next home, and we anticipate further uplift in activity once agents have time to adjust to the new social distancing guidance specific to the home moving sector.
“Home movers who have been eagerly waiting to take their home moving plans to the next stage should show some patience with agents given the unexpected announcement, to ensure there’s time to adapt to the new guidelines and ensure everyone is kept safe.”
At the same time, estate agency Andrews said within one hour of opening this morning 226 calls had been received for viewing requests across sales and lettings.
David Westgate, group chief executive of Andrews, said: “The first hour on Wednesday offered hard evidence of the unprecedented pent-up demand in the property market right now.
“People’s lives have been on hold for the best part of two months and they are now rushing to get their moves back on track.
“There is a lot of talk that values will be hit hard in the months ahead and while that may apply to some areas where job losses are sadly high we believe the sales market overall will hold up well and that average prices will even be slightly up this time next year.”
