Research by Zoopla has reported that around one in nine (11%) homes listed for sale on their site has previously been rented out.  And that former landlord properties had average asking prices around a quarter lower than homes that have been lived in by owner-occupiers, at £190,000 and £250,000 respectively.

It suggested some landlords were “looking to rationalise their portfolios in the face of higher mortgage rates” and said first-buyers should be prepared to tackle a “doer-upper“.

Its report said: “Five years ago, around half of these homes returned to the rental market as unsold or bought by another investor.

“However, this proportion has dropped to a third more recently.”

Guy Gittins, chief executive of estate agent Foxtons, said more renters who were now in a position to buy have accelerated their search “given the extreme supply and demand imbalance in the lettings market“.

He added: “New buyer activity has led to consistently higher viewing numbers than we have seen at any point in the last six years.”

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: “There are still fewer buyers in the market than a year ago, but sales are still being agreed, with more homes to choose from.

“Sellers shouldn’t get carried away by more positive data on the housing market and need to price their homes realistically if they are serious about moving home in 2023.”

Nearly a fifth (18pc) of homes listed for sale on Zoopla have had their price cut by more than 5pc.

Average advertised house prices have fallen by 1.3pc in the past six months, but the speed of falls has been slowing as more sales are agreed, Zoopla said.