The snow and ice which dominated January’s news also had a negative affect on the housing market, according to the latest Agency Express Property Activity Index.

The number of houses sold in January was 18.0% less than those sold in December and 9.8% down on January 2009. Compared to 2007 and 2008 the picture looks gloomy with house sales being down 54.2% and 52.9% respectively.

In previous years, January has seen a significant uplift in the amount of houses sold compared to the traditionally quiet December. But, according to Agency Express, the combination of the ending of the Stamp Duty holiday at the end of December and the bad weather experienced at the start of January means that it has been the worst January for house sales for four years.

However, there were some more positive signs in various regions. The North East saw house sales grow by 12.5%, with Wales seeing an increase of 6.0% and Central England experienced a 1.4% uplift. And there were five cities that saw positive monthly sales growth – Bristol (up 75.0%), Birmingham (68.0%), Cardiff (34.4%), Southampton (12.5%) and Newcastle (3.1%).

Stephen Watson, managing director, Agency Express, said: “Without doubt