House sales are down as much as 30 per cent in some areas, showing a stumble in the market for many areas.

New research from Lloyds Bank said 82 per cent of towns saw house sales fall between 2015 and 2016.

The largest drops in home sales in 2016 were in Brent in north west London where the average house is sold for £424,313 and Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, where the cost of a semi-detached home is £485,969.

Sales in each fell by 30 per cent. 

Other areas with the biggest drop in sales were Harrow, Newham, Hackney, Hounslow, and Southwark in London.

Elsewhere, there was also a downward trend in Workington, Cumbria, Basildon in Essex, and Thatcham in Berkshire. 

Fewer people are buying homes in property markets in the south of England, as compared to the north, new figures have shown.

Lloyds Bank said there was a general north-south divide during their research of Land Registry figures.

Researchers also found an improvement from when the market started to recover from the financial crisis.

Between 2011 to 2016 sales across England and Wales as a whole increased by 29 per cent. 

There is a growing market for first time buyers despite the huge hike in the cost of mortgage deposits.

In 2016 the number of all house purchases financed by a mortgage were made by first-time buyers reached the highest level since 1996.

In a decade, since 2006 the figure reached 49 per cent - from 36 per cent.

Andy Mason, mortgage director at Lloyds Bank, said: "The recovery in the housing market has stumbled during the past year.

"The decrease in the amount of people moving home could be caused by movers not being able to find the right home, in the right location or those who don't have enough equity in their current home to put down as a large enough deposit for their next mortgage.

"Add to this that the average cost of moving home is close to £11,000, with costs in London over £31,000 and these factors make it more challenging for those looking to move home."

However, the downward trend is being bucked in some areas.

In Retford, East Midlands, there was a 15 per cent year-on-year increase in sales and sales were up by 12 per cent annually in Cannock in the West Midlands.

The rise was seen in other areas, all outside of the capital.

Property hotspots in 2016 included Retford and Coalville in the East Midlands, as well as Cannock in the West Midlands where the average cost of a semidetached home is £141,671.

Lytham St Annes, Nelson, Thornton Cleveleys and Burnley, in the North West were also included, as were Wisbech, East Anglia and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire.

Stamp duty changes which have made the tax more expensive for people purchasing top-end properties have been blamed for disrupting the housing market by experts.