The figures show England and Wales are in a ‘transaction crisis’ according to small homes provider Project Etopia, which studied the data.

Overall there has been a 2.3% drop in the number of sales, despite low mortgage rates and further help for first-time buyers.

Stevenage and Newcastle-under-Lyme saw the biggest falls in transactions at 27% and 16% respectively.

Cambridge, Wellingborough and Brighton were among the 10 places that experienced the largest drop in sales outside of Greater London.

Sponsored

Aldermore Insights with Jon Cooper: Edition 10 – The biggest barrier to homeownership isn’t affordability. It’s outdated lending.

Sponsored by Aldermore

In the capital, Tower Hamlets and Croydon have been worst affected, with transaction levels dropping 22.5% and 15.4% respectively.

The best performing areas outside London were Chorley and Hull up by 17% and 14%.

Joseph Daniels, chief executive of Project Etopia, said: “Lack of housing stock means we’re on a merry-go-round of gyrating house prices in this country.

“This feeds into massive price gains that occur over just a few years, causing people to think of their house as an investment not a home.

“When storm clouds gather on the horizon they then guard their most valuable possession by sitting tight.

“If we had more stock, this boom and bust would be a thing of the past and the sands wouldn’t keep shifting under developers’ feet.”