For many Knutsford homeowners are unknowingly sitting on their own private goldmine.

This week estate agents in the town confirmed that there was now an 'insatiable' demand for the traditional family home in the area - the three or four bedroom detached - with demand seriously outstripping supply.

Thornley Grove estate agents this week began appealing directly to any homeowners looking to sell.

"Our Knutsford office is virtually under siege with inquiries," said branch manager Stan Nagel.

"There is a genuine shortage of properties across all price ranges."

It was a similar story at Bridgfords. An average of 1,700 buyers are registered each week across the region - a huge increase on the same figures from last year.

"There is a huge rise in people wanting to buy properties but there isn't a corresponding upsurge in houses coming on the market," said director Jeremy Briggs.

Agents believe that the current low interest rates make it a seller's market - with sale prices, as a result, very much at a premium.

But prices have not put off determined buyers who comb across Knutsford in search of the elusive family home.

"We get clients coming in saying 'I don't suppose you've got any three bedroom detached' and you know that they have been everywhere else and found nothing," said Mr Nagel.

Andrew Rogers, manager of Gascoigne Halman, attributes the current demand to a number of factors.

"People are cashing in on higher asking prices and with interest rates low and wages higher more and more people are on the move," he said.

"People are simply finding it more affordable to climb the property ladder."