Anecdotal evidence suggests that rising interest rates are a major factor for many homeowners putting their home on the market right now.

The pressure on mortgage holders tightened even further yesterday, as the Bank of England raised interest rates for the 13th consecutive time, taking the rate to 5%, and analysts say there could be more hikes on the horizon.

Amid mortgage rates rising again, many sellers are now thinking of selling up to avoid unaffordable home loan costs.

Richard Donnell, director of research and insight at Zoopla, last week warned that homeowners, especially first-time buyers, may start to pull out of deals this summer.

“Those that have got offers locked in at closer to 4% will most likely push ahead with purchases where they feel secure in their work and/or need to move for job or family reasons.

“Those who were going to move but for less needs-based reasons may look to pull out of deals and wait over the summer.”

Donnell’s assessment spells bad news for vendors.

London-based Chestertons reports that there has been a 5% rise in the volume of properties coming onto in recent weeks.

The agency also notes that 13% more homeowners started preparing to put their property up for sale.

Despite the hike in interest rates, Matt Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons, believes that cautious confidence is returning to the market, and this is also a contributing factor to “more sellers coming to the market”.