Property sales have hit a seven-year high, increasing by around a fifth over the first ten months of last year than in the same period in 2013, according to new research by Lloyds Bank.
This figure is the highest for this period since 2007, with the numbers of sales in England and Wales during January through to October last year totalling 760,000.
Since the market reached the depth of its recession in 2009, there has been a considerable improvement in sales, stated the bank.
Over the first ten months of 2014, sales were 60 per cent higher than in the same period in 2009.
Despite this, sales remained more than a quarter below the levels achieved at the height of the boom in 2007.
Nearly all regions saw a rise in housing activity in 2014, with the East Midlands topping the table with a 26 per cent increase.
Overall, the smallest rise was in Greater London at 11 per cent, consistent with house price inflation, Lloyds said, given that the market has slowed sharply in the capital since last summer.
However, London also recorded the biggest pick-up in sales over the past five years as a whole, with a 74 per cent gain between 2009 and 2014.
All regions saw increases of at least 50 per cent over this period, with the smallest rises in East Anglia at 51 per cent, the north at 52 per cent and the south west at 52 per cent.
Andy Hulme, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Low interest rates, improvements in the UK economy and government schemes, such as Help-to- Buy, all appear to have contributed to the rise in home sales.
“Despite these improvements, sales both nationally and regionally are still significantly below their pre-recession levels.”
He added that there is a clear north versus south pattern to the housing market recovery, with sales closer to their 2007 levels in the south.
“Indeed, a small number of towns recorded higher sales last year than seven years earlier, but sales remained much lower than 2007 levels in most areas.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
