“Mortgage approvals rose sharply in September and we see them at their highest level since September 2007. Unsurprisingly, the end to the stamp duty holiday is continuing to drive demand within the market.

“The general consensus in the market is that time is running out if buyers want to see the benefits of the stamp duty holiday as we now see more properties progressing through the sales system, creating backlogs in the pipeline. It is widely noted that to be in with a chance of beating the stamp duty holiday, a sale should be secured by Christmas at the latest.

“The issue at hand, however, is that the market is being driven by home movers and their hunger for different types of properties in post-lockdown life. As we look forward with an air of caution, we must ask ourselves what the market will look like in 2021 without government incentives propping it up?”