An estimated 102,810 residential homes were sold in January 2020, which is 5.2% higher than a year ago and 4.1% higher than December 2019.

There were 11,170 non-residential property transactions in January, a year-on-year rise of 10.7% and also 10.7% higher than the previous month.

Neil Knight, business development director at Spicerhaart Part-Exchange and Assisted Move, commented: “Last month’s statistics were the first sign that the market had turned a corner and that confidence is beginning to return after a long period of political uncertainty.

“The January figures are welcome confirmation that this was more than just a one-off and the post-election bounce could turn out to be real.

“There remains a great deal to do to turn the bounce into a sustained upturn in the market but we are continuing to see very strong demand for part-exchange and assisted move services, with people who may have been putting off moving now increasingly impatient to get on with their lives.”

Joseph Daniels, founder of offsite eco developer Project Etopia, said: “This is the second month in a row that the market has chalked up annual growth on a seasonally adjusted basis, and the second month in a row that the total has smashed through the 100,000 mark.

“The rate of growth also remains impressive, coming in at 5.2% for January, following 6.8% year-on-year growth in December. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis the annual growth rate last month hit 12.7%.

“This is great news long term for first-time buyers and the wider house building industry but it needs to be sustained. No flash-in-the-pan rise in sales volumes is going to fix the problem of low housing stock in Britain and these green shoots need to bloom into a lasting recovery.

“The level of transactions has been down the road to ruin over the past 10 years and had fallen annually for eight straight months prior to December on a seasonally adjusted basis, but at least they now seem to be back in the ascendency.”