The data reveals that the market resurgence post-lockdown has resulted in an additional 140,000 transactions within the pipeline than at this point in 2019. The last few months particularly have seen a swell in activity; between July and October the sales agreed are up by between 40% and 60% on the same period last year.

However, the data highlights that would-be buyers face a race against time in order to complete deals before the end of the Stamp Duty holiday at the end of March next year. It is currently taking a little over 100 days from a sale being agreed to reach completion, though the firm warned that the volume of business currently seen could cause this to increase, meaning that sales should ideally be agreed before Christmas if they are to go through in time.

According to Zoopla’s report, UK house price growth is now running at 3%, the highest level in two and a half years. Nottingham is leading the way with prices up 5.1%, followed by Manchester (4.6%) and Leeds (4.5%). Zoopla suggested that this growth looks set to continue, and could hit 4% by the end of the year.

At a national level, there are now 18% more homes on the market than a year ago, though there is significant regional variance. London has seen the greatest growth at 39% compared with 2019.

Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla, suggested that the Stamp Duty deadline will “focus the minds” of committed movers, helping to support sales volumes and ensure a strong first quarter of completions next year.

He continued: “House price growth continues to move higher as the weight of demand pushes the growth rate upwards and we expect prices to be 4% higher by the end of 2020. However, the strength of the market nationally is masking weakness in parts of the market where sales are slowing in areas where households are typically on lower incomes and more sensitive to economic uncertainty and more restricted credit availability. This market polarisation is set to become a growing feature of the market as we move into 2021.”