HMRC property transactions data for October has revealed there were 105,490 residential properties purchased (on a seasonally adjusted basis) compared to 105,740 in September 2015.

This means residential purchases dropped on a monthly basis by 0.2% (seasonally adjusted)

However on a 12 month basis, October 2015 saw 6.3% growth in residential property transactions, up from 99,290 in October 2014 (seasonally adjusted)

Andrew Bridges, managing director of estate agents Stirling Ackroyd, said: “Numbers matter when it comes to housing. Talk of prices gets the pulse racing, but the number of people in new homes is the most permanent symptom of success in the property market. And on that measure the news is good – the residential market is moving again, with transactions growing at least as quickly as annual price rises across the UK.

“In the London market, we see this reflected in strong buyer enthusiasm, including from first-time buyers despite spiralling house prices. The danger of stamp duty changes frightening away buyers at the very top of the market has also not been as serious as was imagined – particularly away from London’s more traditional high-end enclaves, the top of the market is accelerating too.

“However – on current trends this won’t be enough to stave off future floods of demand. If numbers matter to the property industry, they matter even more to families and workers looking for places to live. To keep up with the pace of population, numbers need to start mattering to planning offices, to government departments – and to ministers.”