More than half of estate agents saw buyer demand drop in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, according to an industry report.

The National Association of Estate Agents’ June housing market report found 57% of agents reported a drop in demand and 58% saw supply fall in the week following the vote.

However, agents remained positive, predicting this would level out over July.

Sales to first-time buyers were still strong, accounting for a third of transactions in June, according to the report.

This is the highest number of sales since October last year.

Overall the supply of available housing remained the same – with an average of 37 properties registered per member branch in June, and an average of 330 house hunters, up from 304 in May.

Mark Hayward, managing director of the NAEA, said: “In periods of extreme political and economic uncertainty, the housing market will always respond.

“However, it’s a relief to see that looking at the whole month overall, buyers were still keen to buy, sellers were still keen to sell and sales were still going through at the same level as we’d expect.

“It’s only natural that immediately following the vote supply fell but our figures show that the lead-up to the vote wasn’t all doom and gloom, which should be a good indication of the months to come.

“We remain upbeat and need others in the industry to do so as well. The new housing minister confirming his commitment to building a million new homes will be encouraging for many buyers, especially those looking to buy their first home. Hopefully we should soon see housing market confidence bouncing back to the levels seen pre-Brexit.”