Property prices on England and Wales broke through the £300,000 level in January, according to the latest Your Move house price index.

Average house prices grew 0.3% in the month and 3.1% annually to £300,169.

The agent said activity in January was also higher than usual for the time of year, estimating 60,000 transactions. This was lower than the 62,059 in January 2016, which also started strongly, but up by more than 2,000 on 2015.

Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “It’s been a confident start to the year for the housing market.

“Following a strong December, the performance in January shows a market whose resilience continues to defy the doubters.”