The data shows that England and Wales saw the most transactions recorded in an October since 2007, plus house prices rising 4.3% from a year ago. The average house price is now £237,161, a monthly increase of 0.6% and an annual change of 4.3%.
Commenting, Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, part of LSL Property Services, said: “We’re only at a fraction of the heights seen before the credit crunch struck, but still the housing market is a hive of activity.
“There’s been a tremendous jump in transactions over the past three months – with the most sales recorded in an October since the onset of the crisis. Key to such a surge in activity is the renewed level of confidence seeping back into the market and a plethora of attractive mortgage deals enticing more and more aspiring buyers back into the housing arena.
“For the first time in nearly three years, all ten regions in England and Wales have seen an increase in prices - an astonishing recovery, one that we can now say is truly national.”
Sexton said the increased availability and competitiveness of mortgages has opened the door to a new wave of aspiring buyers who had previously been persistently locked out. He believes the stark rise in first-time buyer activity in particular has given the speed of recovery an even greater uplift.
Acadata estimates that the number of properties sold in October exceeded 79,000 which is the highest figure for the month of October since 2007 when sales totalled 104,500.
Since May 2013 sales have been higher each month than in the same month of the previous three years and Acadata estimates that the total number of transactions in 2013 will be 15% ahead of 2012, thus taking the total to more than 750,000.
Dr Peter Williams, housing market specialist and chairman of Acadata, said: “This will still be a long way short of the 1.3 million transactions recorded by the Land Registry in 2007, which gives a clear sense of the context in which this market recovery should be viewed.
“However, we are seeing sustained momentum over the second part of the year, with renewed consumer confidence alongside general economic recovery and, of course, increased mortgage availability. All of these factors support the increasing activity as reflected in the transaction figures.”
