The number of people planning to buy a new home in the next two years has risen for the first time since the beginning of 2001, research claimed today.

Despite evidence the property boom was slowing down, 12 per cent of Britons plan to buy a new house during the next 24 months, according to Alliance & Leicester.

This is up from 11 per cent of people planning to move in each of the three previous quarters - and is the first quarter-on-quarter increase since 2001 - although it is still below a high of 15 per cent in the summer of 2001.

Young people are most likely to be planning a move, with 27 per cent of people in their 20s hoping to buy a property in the next two years.

Meanwhile, research also released today by Sainsburys Bank estimates that about £141.3 billion of property is set to change hands between now and September as six per cent of homeowners move.

The bank also found that 27 per cent of people planning to sell their home in the next few months would accept an offer of an average of 4.8 per cent below the asking price, while seven per cent would accept an offer of ten per cent below their original price.

According to A&L the most common reason given for moving was to save money.