A seven-month sequence of growth in new home buyer enquiries came to an end in January, according to survey results from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The start of 2021 saw a net balance of -28 per cent of respondents report a decline in hopeful new buyers, alongside a net balance of -38 per cent saying there was a fall in new properties coming to market.

Home sales also fell this January – a net balance of -18 per cent of respondents reported a drop, which compares to 15 per cent in December 2020.

However, the Rics survey also shows a net balance of 50 per cent of people reporting house prices going up in January, although in London specifically this reading falls to -9 per cent, which is the first negative given for this metric since July 2020.

A net balance of -29 per cent expect a decline in sales in the near-term, with this rising to -4 per cent for the next 12 months.

And in the lettings market, 12 per cent of people surveyed report a rise in tenant demand while new landlord instructions fell for the second quarter in a row.

Within London, a net balance of -43 per cent expect a rental growth within the next three months. Across the UK this rises to 12 per cent.

Shawbrook Bank managing director of property finance John Eastgate says: “The stamp duty holiday has become the latest ill thought through initiative that the property market has been landed with. These figures show just how much it has distorted consumer behaviour.

“Suggestions of an extension or tapered end to the incentive are welcome but what the market needs is a sustainable, long-term approach from government.

“The reality is that the fundamentals of the supply-demand imbalance coupled with ever increasing affordability challenges for first-time buyers will sustain property prices beyond the end of the holiday. Property investment is not a short term game and committed investors looking for long term gains should remain confident in the future of the housing market.”