First-time buyers are back in the market “in a big way” thanks to the cut in Stamp Duty, more stable house prices and low mortgage rates.

That’s according to Haart, which released some otherwise gloomy figures in its National Housing Market Monitor for the month of January.

Haart said the number of first-time buyers was up 10% year on year in January, and up 16% on the month before.

Nonetheless, there was a 3.1% year-on-year fall in the overall number of new buyer registrations across the country as compared to the year before, according to Haart’s figures.

New properties for sale fell 18% year on year, and buyer viewings were down 8%.

The number of sales (reaching exchange) was down 6.2%.

House prices across England and Wales in January fell by 0.5% on the month and by 3.4% on the year.

The average house price now sits at £228,313, according to Haart’s data.

The return of first-time buyers has pushed the average purchase price for this category up by 2.8% to £183,506.

Paul Smith, CEO of Haart, said: “Although the London market is still moving at a slower than normal pace, other parts of the UK are booming.

“House prices in the Northern Powerhouse city of Manchester jumped 10% over the past year, and in Warwickshire, where we have just acquired a new agency, house price growth is sitting at around 7%.

“We need to get used to this re-calibrated picture of price growth across the UK, focus on the positives, and not get bogged down with how the market is performing on Westminster’s doorstep.”

He added: “It certainly seems as if the Government is putting housebuilding at the heart of its agenda at the moment.

“It is moving away from the political back and forth, and getting on with the business of building. This should result in a meaningful increase in stock over the coming months and years, moving the market full speed ahead.”

When it comes to the lettings market, demand from new tenants in England and Wales was down 6.8% year on year and supply was broadly flat, up just 0.4%.

The average rent fell 5.4% year on year to £1,355 per month.

In London, demand dropped 33.1%, with supply down 41.3%.

Despite those steep declines, the average rent held firm at £1,823 per month, up 0.2% year on year.

The number of new landlords registering to buy rose 1.1% year on year but the number of sales fell 1.7%.

Once again, there were much steeper falls in London, where the proportion of new landlords registered to buy fell 25.1% and the number of sales fell 8%.

Haart’s data is based on management reports from over 100 branches across the country.