The number of house hunters registered per estate agent branch fell from 332 in November, to 313 in December, its lowest number since June 2019, according to NAEA Propertymark.

However, year-on-year this figure is up on the 304 house hunters per branch recorded in December 2018.

Meanwhile, supply rose on a monthly basis, with the number of properties available per member branch rising from 39 to 41, its highest figure since August 2019.

Despite this rise, on an annual basis, supply is down, falling from 42 available properties per branch in December 2018.

Furthermore, the number of sales agreed per member branch fell from seven in November, to six in December 2019. Annually, the number of sales agreed per member branch is up from five sales agreed in both December 2017 and December 2018.

Looking at the number of sales to first-time buyers, this category also noted a rise on a monthly basis, rising from 28 per cent to 29 per cent. Year-on-year, this is an increase of five percentage points on December 2018.

NAEA Propertymark chief executive Mark Hayward says: “After a period of suppressed market activity due to Brexit and political uncertainty, the clear outcome of the general election in December has injected some much-needed confidence into the market.

“Despite it typically being a quieter time of year seasonally, our figures have shown positive trends with both demand and the number of sales being high in comparison to previous years, as both buyers and sellers no longer hold off on their plans. This is an encouraging close to the year and we hope to see more of this stability in 2020.”