The Halifax Property Sales Hotspot Review tracks home sales movements across England and Wales.
The review is based on Land Registry data and covers more than 100 of the largest post-towns in the country. House sales comparisons refer to data for the first six months of both 2009 and 2010.
Croydon (73%) and Maidenhead (71%) have seen the next biggest increases. There have been considerable variations across the country in the change in property sales over the past year. However, just three towns have seen no increase in sales since last year: Blackpool (-1%), Grimsby (0%) and Sunderland (0%). These three towns have relatively low average prices.
There were 290,227 home sales in England and Wales in the first six months of 2010; 27% more than in the first half of 2009 (228,754).
Suren Thiru, Halifax housing economist, said: "Over the past year, some towns have recorded considerable increases in the number of sales compared with 2009. Most of these towns have been in London and the South East and have good commuter links to central London. Overall, just three towns in England and Wales actually saw no increase in sales over the period."
