Property websites see big increase in online searches The government's decision to bring forward phase two of its Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme sparked an immediate rush of interest from homebuyers. The UK's two biggest online property portals saw a sharp uplift in the number of people browsing properties for sale on their websites on Sunday, the day David Cameron revealed he would accelerate the introduction of the £130bn scheme by three months. Zoopla, the property website, said online traffic jumped 17 per cent compared to a week earlier, and Rightmove, the UK's largest property portal, reported a 10 per cent increase. Estate agents expect interest to grow further in the coming weeks as more details of the scheme are announced and lenders begin to advertise their 95 per cent government-backed mortgage products. David Yuill, senior negotiator at the Peckham branch of estate agency chain Kinleigh Folkard and Hayward, said he had been deluged with phone calls and emails from prospective buyers on Monday asking how the scheme could help them. "Some have decided they will use the scheme to buy a more expensive property than their deposit previously allowed," he said. Experts have questioned whether banks and building societies will be able to cope with demand. Only two lenders - Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland/ NatWest - have so far agreed to take part. RBS/NatWest said it would extend opening hours of its branches at peak times, and aims to help 25,500 borrowers through the scheme.