The number of residential property sales increased by 5.2 per cent year on year to 102,810 in January, stamp duty figures from HM Revenue & Customs reveal.

The numbers only cover transactions of £40,000 or more as below this level home buyers do not have to register the purchase with HMRC.

January’s figure is also 4.1 per cent higher than the number of homes sold in December.

Non-residential property sales increased by 10.7 per cent year on year to 11,170 in January.

This was also 10.7 per cent above the number of non-residential sales in December.

Coreco managing director Andrew Montlake says: “For residential transactions in January 2020 to have surpassed the same month in 2019 is yet more proof of the property market’s resilience during a year of extreme political uncertainty.

“A lot of people wanted to get into a new home before our formal exit from the EU and this data certainly reflects that.

“Many people, especially first time buyers, were particularly wary of a rebound in prices during 2020 if Brexit proved benign and did not want to miss their window.

“Given the performance of the property market in 2020 to date, they may well have played it right.”

Yopa chief property analyst Mike Scott adds: “We expect that this increased demand for housing will lead to house price increases in the first half of this year, as it doesn’t seem to be matched by any significant increase in supply. 

“We urgently need more properties for sale, so vendors who do come to market this spring have every chance of selling their home quickly, for a good price.”