In the aftermath of the stamp duty holiday, which ended in September, the race for space among buyers has continued to shape the market. 

The availability of houses for sale is currently down by more than half on the five-year average, whereas the stock of flats is down by 15pc. Likewise, average flat prices have risen by 1.6pc over the past year, while prices for in-demand houses have shot up by 8.3pc. 

Grainne Gilmore, of Zoopla, said: “New supply will start to rise at the turn of the year as households use the holiday period to make a decision around making a move.

“The supply of listings at the end of January runs some 50pc higher than the start of December.

“Buyer demand will remain strong moving into next year, but as the market starts to normalise in 2022, there may be an increase in the proportion of activity among movers, who are active in the market as sellers as well as buyers. This should ease the constraint in supply to some extent.”