A third of UK homeowners are not prepared to drop their asking price to sell their property following signs that the housing market is picking up, a survey showed.

Around 35% of people with a property on the market said they would not accept an offer of less than the full asking price, according to the Co-operative Bank yesterday.

But these sellers may struggle to find a buyer, as just 12% of househunters say they would be prepared to offer the full asking price on a home they liked.

The property market has shown signs of stabilising in recent months, with many house price indexes reporting price rises as potential buyers return to the market.

Meanwhile, research claims that mortgage arrangement fees charged by banks and building societies have fallen by around a quarter during the past year.

The average fee charged to borrowers taking out a two-year fixed rate mortgage has dropped from £1,243 in 2008 to £957 now, according to financial website moneysupermarket.com.

Lenders hiked the fees they charged on mortgages after the credit crunch first struck as they looked for alternative ways to generate revenue in the face of higher funding costs.

But the fall in the fees is seen as a further sign that the impact of the credit crunch is beginning to ease.