The number of homes sold in June was 20% up from May as 63,500 were recorded against 52,975 in the previous month.

While still down on the long-term average, this increase in sold properties sharply reverses the drop in transactions May from April, according to the LSL Property Services/Academetrics house price index.

House prices continued to fall in June, down 0.5% on May levels, mainly a result of sellers finally coming to terms with buyer demand for greater price discounts

The good news is that the oversupply in the market, prevalent last month, is now reducing.

Annual prices are 7.7% above a year ago, down from a 9.1% annual rise last month

David Brown, LSL Property Services commercial director, said: “June’s transaction figures are the highest this year and suggest last month’s stalemate between sellers and buyers failing to agree terms is on the wane. We can’t discount further house prices falls over the next few months, as the market continues to stabilise and normalise.

“However the demographic age profile of the UK suggests there is an army of over one million would-be first-time buyers delaying purchases, who are ready to enter the market when conditions allow. This suggests the current drop in house prices may well be short lived.

“The key to recovery is more attractive first-time buyer mortgage deals offered by lenders.”

Note that small changes in low figures translate in to large rises and falls – for instance a 0.1% increase in the 0.5% bank rate is a 20% rise but only reflects a modest change.