The Land Registry said 23,133 sales took place in April 2019, of which 394 were for properties worth more than £1m in England and Wales, 242 of which were in London.

However, there is a lag between a property sale and its registration, ranging from two weeks to two months, the Land Registry said, so the final figure for April could go higher. The most expensive residential property sold during the month was in Kensington and Chelsea for £30m. In contrast, the cheapest residential property sold in Burnley for £16,000.

Nationally, house prices crept up very slightly in April, by just £26. According to Nationwide, average house prices were £214,946 during May, up from £214,920 in April. Annual house inflation is now running at 0.6%, the six month in a row where annual house price growth has been below 1%.