Alongside this ‘full house’, as Rightmove director of property data Tim Bannister terms it, the price of property coming onto the housing market grew by 1.8% in October – or by £5,983 – which is the biggest October rise since 2015.

And the number of sales agreed increased by 15.2% in September compared to September 2019, which Rightmove takes as the last time normal market conditions reigned.

Rightmove believes this high demand is “stalling a recovery in the available stock for sale” even though more and more properties are coming to market.

It adds that its latest weekly snapshot, “shows that the number of new sellers coming to market is still marginally down on the same period in 2019, but only by 3.2% as opposed to 9.3% for the period as a whole.”

It has been “the year of the power buyer,” says Bannister, explaining, “with those in the most powerful position to proceed quickly and with most certainty ruling the roost over other buyers who have to sell but have yet to come to market.”

He concludes: “As we approach the end of the year, many prospective buyers may be distracted by a more normal family Christmas than in 2020, giving more determined buyers who have already sold their own property an opportunity to act fast and buy with less competition.”

On London specifically, Chestertons head of sales Cory Askew says: “Despite the stamp duty tax free threshold having returned to its normal level… the demand from house hunters hasn’t slowed down.

“London is seeing a return of office workers and steady influx of international buyers. Sellers have taken note of this and, with a higher demand for properties, don’t feel the need to lower their asking price.”

The firm recently changed its expectation for national house price growth for 2021 from 1.5% to 4%.