The Land Registry March house price data has revealed a monthly price fall of 0.5%.

The annual price change now stands at 6.7%, bringing the average house price in England and Wales to £189,901.

The March data for London shows a monthly increase of 0.2%. At 13.9%, the annual change for London is considerably higher than most other regions. The average price of property in the capital is £534,785 in comparison with the average for England and Wales of £189,901.

The number of property transactions has increased over the last year. From October 2014 to January 2015 there was an average of 73,744 sales per month. In the same months a year later, the figure was 74,374.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in January 2016 increased by 2% to 938 from 916 in January 2015.

David Brown, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, said: “London and the East of England were the sole defenders of property price growth in March, with values across the rest of the country relegated month-on-month. This hiccup doesn’t detract from a decidedly more positive performance on an annual basis, with only house prices in the North East region now lower than they were a year ago. But this is still one region too many.

“We’ve seen a spring sprint in sales ahead of the new Stamp Duty legislation coming into play. In Prime London, where average prices and stakes are higher, six in 10 purchases over the last three months have been made by buy-to-let investors and second-home owners seeking to avoid paying a premium later this year.

“Now we’ve passed the 1 April marker, all eyes will be on how much stamina there is in the market. But there’s still a lot of energy in the first-time buyer market for other owner-occupiers unaffected by this Stamp Duty chance. This should step up to fill any momentary fall back in investor demand, and keep prices on course. In London, there are 14 buyers competing for every available property on the market, which will keep the wheels of growth moving.”