This is according to the research by Lloyds TSB which showed that only 40% (202) of the 500 towns tracked in England and Wales recorded a rise in home sales last year.
This was the lowest proportion of towns experiencing an annual rise in sales since 2008, when all towns recorded a fall in sales and less than half the proportion in 2010 (82%).
Overall, there were 630,389 home sales in England and Wales in 2011; 4% less than in 2010 (654,481).
Towns in the north saw the biggest increases in sales with 59% of the towns that saw a rise in home sales in that area against 41% in the south.
This is a reversal of 2010 when southern towns accounted for the majority of the country's property sales hotspots (53%).
Regionally, the north of England and East Anglia had the highest proportion of property sales hotspots with 61% of all towns surveyed in both regions seeing a rise in sales.
These regions were closely followed by the West Midlands (60%). In contrast, London had the lowest proportion of sales hotspots in 2011 (16%) having seen sales decline by 6% over the past year.
Between 2010 and 2011, house prices rose by an average of 0.2% across the ten towns that saw the biggest drop in property sales. This is in contrast to the 4.5% fall in house prices among the ten towns that recorded the biggest rises in property sales.
Over the past year, supply conditions have generally been tighter in southern England compared to the rest of the country. This is likely to have helped to support prices in the south relative to the north, but also constrained the level of sales in the area according to Lloyds TSB.
Commenting, Suren Thiru, Lloyds TSB housing economist, said: "The overall level of housing market activity across England and Wales has weakened over the past year, reflecting the concerns over the outlook for the UK economy.
“Additionally, consumers are experiencing difficulties in raising the necessary deposit, which is preventing many potential home buyers from entering the market.
"Whilst a number of towns in the north have seen a significant rise in home sales, these increases have been from a historically low base. Generally, property prices in the north continue to be weaker than in the south."
