Property sales were down by a fifth across the UK during March, and plunged by almost 30% in London.
New Land Registry data paints yet another gloomy picture of the market, showing that the number of transactions completed in March across the UK fell 20.3% annually to 73,977.
The biggest falls were in London where sales were down 29% annually to 6,180, and in the south-west with a 24% decline to 6,640.
Overall sales in England were down 21.8% to 58,203 on a yearly basis, while transactions in Scotland declined 16.1% to 7,861.
Northern Ireland recorded a 12.4% decline to 4,545 sales and the Welsh market fell 13.8% annually to 3,368 sales during March.
The Land Registry data also shows house prices growing at the slowest rate since August 2013, up 3% annually in May to £226,351.
This was a slowdown from the 3.5% annual growth recorded in April.
Average prices rose just 0.1% on a monthly basis to £226,351.
The largest annual growth was in the east midlands, with prices up 6.3% to £190,216 on average.
London saw the steepest annual fall with average prices down 0.4% to £478,853.
Commenting on the figures, Andy Sommerville, director at Search Acumen, said: “The slowing UK housing market has now effectively hit a brick wall.”
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent, said: “These figures are interesting, as this is the most comprehensive survey of UK house prices, and confirm what we have seen in others and on the ground.
“In other words, property prices cannot be sustained indefinitely by low stock and mortgage rates. Lower demand is forcing vendors to be more realistic, with fewer, more nervous buyers who are prepared to shrug off Brexit concerns.”
Source: Property Industry Eye