With one in 16 privately owned homes having changed hands, 2021 marks the busiest year in the housing market since 2007, shows Zoopla’s latest house price index.

The report shows that the average house price in the UK rose 6.9% on an annual basis in October, which compares to annual growth of 3.5% at the same time last year.

This takes the average house price to £240,000.

It adds that while this is down from the 7% recorded in August and September, “the average rate of growth over the last three months is higher that at any time since 2014”.

And buyer demand is 28% higher than the five-year average while new supply is 5% to 10% below “typical levels seen in 2017 to 2019”. Total stock, meanwhile, is down 40% on the five-year average.

Zoopla believes that new supply will rise as 2022 begins and demand will drop slightly, while rising inflation and higher mortgage rates will affect housing prices.

“Even so,” Zoopla says, “mortgage rates are likely to remain relatively low compared to long-run averages, and there is more room for price growth across some of the most affordable housing markets.”

It forecasts a 3% rise next year and 1.2 million transactions.