Think of an estate agents office as a petrol filling station. Over the past eighteen months there have been queues of buyers wanting to find a property. The uplift in enquiries has kept agents rushed off their feet. The demand is higher than it has ever been in working memory for many in the property business.

Things will probably normalise at the pumps before long. Apart from the blame game – how did this happen and why? – everyone will soon be going about their business as before.

But the property industry is not like the fuel business. With fuel there is a distribution issue. With property there is currently a supply issue. This difficulty will resolve itself when enough people in the existing housing stock want to move on, and the builders start building.  Let us hope Michael Gove - the nineteenth housing minister in the last twenty years - will remain in office long enough to help.

Like fuel the property market will take time to settle, although it will take longer. But everyone should be aware that with property there is no normal. It is either flying high or flying low – or heading in one of those directions. Buyers and sellers must play the cards they have. But, buyers market or sellers market, it all usually evens itself out in the end.

So, be a property optimist. Do not let the market rule you. Do what is suitable for you and your family when you need to. That way you will rule the market and not be a panic buyer or seller. And if everyone does what you do there will be more property at the pumps.