A surge in buyer demand in the final months of 2018 may be a sign that life could return to prime markets if political consensus is reached over Brexit, claims Knight Frank.

Research by the agent showed that while annual sales have declined and prices were down 4.4% in prime central London and 4.8% in greater London year-on-year in November 2018, the number of prospective buyers has actually increased.

It recorded 4.5 buyers per listing in November 2018, up from 3.7 at the start of the year and 8% higher annually.

This was echoed in regional prime markets where Knight Frank said demand was “on par with levels seen a year ago and above the level seen in 2015”.

Knight Frank said: “This may suggest that pent-up demand is forming and could be released once the political uncertainty recedes.”

It comes as Land Registry figures suggest transactions across the market may have actually slipped towards the end of 2018.

Its Price Paid Data for November – based on registrations submitted during the month – shows a 3.6% monthly fall in activity to 96,644.

The number of registrations was also down by 2.7% on a yearly basis.

There is a time lag between when properties are sold and registered, so the actual figure for November could be higher.

Of the sales registered during the month, 31,721 took place in November, the Land Registry said, of which 567 were for £1m or more.

London has most million-pound sales at 336, while there were three in the West Midlands, seven in Greater Manchester and two in Cardiff.

The most expensive residential sale taking place in November 2018 was of a terrace property in the City of Westminster for £38.8m.

In contrast a terrace property in Burnley was the cheapest sale at £16,700.

Meanwhile, data obtained by property lender Octane Capital from 2017 suggests demand was already pretty strong at the higher £10m end of the prime market.

It submitted a Freedom of Information request to HMRC and found there were 300 £10m-plus homes sold in 2017, up from 100 in 2016.

A third of the homes sold in 2017 valued at more than £10m were bought by second-home owners, the research found.

This category of buyer was very active with prime properties too, with the number of second-home owners buying properties worth more than £2m more than doubling in 2017 to 1,900, from 800 in 2016.

Jonathan Samuels, chief executive of Octane Capital, said: “The mainstream property market saw transaction levels tail off considerably following the EU referendum vote, but at the very top end of the market activity levels soared as ultra-wealthy opportunist buyers cashed in on rapidly softening prices.

“The weakness of sterling means a fair percentage of these buyers were almost certainly based overseas, as some of Britain’s wealthiest cities became a goldmine for foreign investors seeking a bargain.

“The fall in the pound more than compensated for the 3% Stamp Duty surcharge on additional properties.”