The number of property sales filed for registration dropped at the end of 2018 but were still up on a year before.

Data from the Land Registry shows there were 83,295 registrations for residential property sales in December 2018, down 13.8% on a monthly basis.

However, the figure is up 17.4% annually, suggesting that the end of 2018 was busier than a year before.

There is a time difference between the sale of a property and its registration, but the Land Registry said 18,974 sales took place last month, of which 335 were of residential properties in England and Wales for more than £1m.

Most £1m sales were in London, while three each were in Birmingham and Manchester.

The most expensive residential sale last year was of a terrace property in the City of Westminster for £10m, while the cheapest was a terrace home in Llanelli for £15,000.