The demand is high. A lot of websites are selling out with fees of 6-8 %. Last year it was only geeks and dreamers who invested, this year is the commoner. People are talking about it everywhere now, its in the media all the time etc. and its very In to say you own bitcoins.
The demand has really gotten huge. Gone are those days when you can just easily register on an exchange and get your verification done within a split of minutes, but now a days it has been a tough one for these exchanges, having to verify a lot of the new users and with the intention of upgrading every now and then as they just keep coming non-stop.