"With demand at an all-time December high and sales to FTBs at their highest on record, 2016 closed on a positive note following several months of uncertainty."
In December, 32% of sales were made to first-time buyers – the highest number for the month of December since 2001 when it was also 32% and a 10% increase on the previous month.
Overall, the number of house hunters rose to the highest level seen since 2003 for the month of December.
The average number of prospective buyers registered per branch last month was 386, a 12% rise from November.
The number of properties available to buy also saw a marginal increase, rising from 39 in Novemver to 41 in December.
However despite an increase in supply and demand, the number of sales agreed dropped by a quarter last month from eight in November to six in December.
Mark Hayward, Managing Director at NAEA, commented: “In November we saw a seasonal slowdown; typically it’s uncommon for people to buy and move close to Christmas. Yet, our December findings have completely bucked this seasonal trend. With demand at an all-time December high and sales to FTBs at their highest on record, 2016 closed on a positive note following several months of uncertainty.
"However, despite an encouraging December, there remains a clear shortage of homes. We await the government’s housing white paper to see how it intends to tackle this and hope the market continues to improve for both buyers and sellers.”
