Demand and supply rise ahead of Brexit deadline: NAEA

Its figures show that the number of house hunters increased in July, rising from 305 to 316 per estate agent branch.

Year-on-year, housing demand has grown, rising from 303 house hunters per branch in July 2018.

The number of properties available per member branch also increased in July, from 37 in June to 41, and has remained steady year-on-year.

Despite there usually being a summer lull, the number of sales agreed per member branch remained at nine in July, the same level for the third month running.

The number of sales made to first-time buyers increased, rising from 23% in June, to 26% in July. However this is an annual decrease of four percentage points from July 2018 when it stood at 30%.

Mark Hayward, chief executive at NAEA Propertymark, said: “The summer is typically a quieter period as house buyers and sellers put their plans on hold with housing market activity stalling as a result.

"However, this has not been the case this year. Buyers can only delay the need to move for so long and we’re now seeing buyers storm the market hoping to complete transactions before the end of October.”