In the 24 hours before the Stamp Duty surcharge kicked in, Britain’s largest conveyancer completed a record number of transactions.

On March 31, My Home Move completed 1,210 sales.

This was not only a 40% jump on the firm’s previous record – in December last year – but made March a record month.

During March, My Home Move completed a total of 6,178 transactions, up 22% from its previous monthly record last October.

The firm said that “all industry participants” came together last Thursday to finalise as many chains as possible before the 3% tax hike on purchases of buy-to-let and second home properties.

CEO Doug Crawford said: “There was a great amount of dedication last Thursday and in the preceding days and weeks to help customers win the race.

“It was a great moment as the market came together and pulled out all the stops on what was one of the busiest days for the industry in history.

“In the short term, we are likely to see re-negotiations for those who were not able to complete in time due to hiccups in the property chain, and many will be going through this process now.

“We expect that the extra costs for those looking to buy additional properties will dampen some demand.

“A lot of purchases have been brought forward because of the tax change so this could lead to a quieter period over the next month or so.”