The number of residential property sales registered across the UK in September increased by 21.3 per cent on the previous month to 98,010, data from HM Revenue & Customs reveal.

The provisional seasonally adjusted figures are based on the number of residential transactions for which stamp duty or equivalent land taxes were paid, therefore the numbers only cover properties sold for more than £40,000.

The number of sales was just 0.7 per cent higher than in September 2019.

Meanwhile, non-residential sales increased by 18.7 per cent to 9,160 in September, but this figure was 6.3 per cent lower than a year ago.

OneSavings Bank managing director for mortgages Alan Cleary says: “Housing transactions continued to recover strongly in September which is great news for the market. 

“At close to 100,000, the number of transactions was similar to a year earlier and in line with the monthly average in recent years.

“With mortgage approvals for house purchase having risen to their highest levels since before the 2008 financial crisis, housing transactions are likely to rise further in the coming months as borrowing costs look set to remain at historically low levels.  

“Bolstered by the government’s additional measures to support employment and boost demand during the winter months, housing market activity seems likely to strengthen further in the period immediately ahead.”

Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart national operations director John Phillips says: “It is a fantastic time to be a mortgage broker. 

“What we are seeing at Just Mortgages is reflecting the national figures. 

“In fact, we saw record numbers of applications and exchanges in September. 

“Numbers are higher than any of us expected to see and volume is consistently high across the country, surprisingly the South East and London are slightly quieter.

“The one downside has been the lack of lenders offering high loan-to-value mortgages. 

“There are still thousands of clients with 10 per cent deposits who are safe investments and they are currently being blocked from owning a home. 

“The market needs a steady supply of these products to support current applicants. 

“Brokers are not concerned about service level agreements being stretched, delivering for the client is more important, timing is not the issue. If lenders can fix that, we expect the demand to continue for the rest of 2020.”

Landbay chief executive John Goodall says: “The market both in buy-to-let and in residential is much more buoyant than any of us expected back in May.  

“September has bounced back strongly and is now exceeding the strong levels of demand that we saw at the start of the year. 

“We are seeing many landlords anticipating an increase in rental demand as it gets harder for people to get on the property ladder due to increasing unemployment and the reduction in high LTV mortgages.  

“I expect this rise in numbers to continue into early 2021 as people rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.”