HOUSE sales in Evesham were booming 40 years ago.

In 1972 estate agents in the town reported that prospective purchasers were almost queuing up to buy new homes and the manager of a building society said mortgages had slowed down because there were not enough properties in the district.

Because of the shortage, it was inevitable that prices should rise also.

One estate agent told the Journal that a two-bedroom bungalow in Hampton, which was built four years earlier and sold for £3,500, was fetching £6,000, nearly twice as much.

And even in the previous year, prices had escalated out of all proportion, with similar bungalows built in 1971 and sold for £4,200 getting £5,850 a year on.

Mr E G Righton, an estate agent of High Street, Evesham, said: “Demand very, very much exceeds supply.

Demand is tremendous and there is very little to offer. It is going to take some time for the supply to catch up.

“There is quite a considerable amount of new building going on, but I can’t see, with the demand building up like this, when the supply is going to catch up. If a person wants something in the country, there is almost no limit to what they will pay.”

Mr B L Gusterson, a partner of Blinkhorn and Co, who have offices in Evesham and Broadway, said his firm deplored the type of selling that caused people to queue for houses.

He said: “There is a terrific demand at the moment for either new or second hand property of any type or description, and having put up a house for sale we do find we are sure to get two, three, or even more people coming along to view it.