Estate agents sold an average of just 15 properties each during the three months to the end of June, the lowest level since the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) began collecting data in 1978.

The institution said the inability of many buyers to secure a mortgage had led to the collapse in transactions as the home loans market continued to shrink.

Demand remains weak with 35% more surveyors reporting a fall in the number of people looking to buy a new home than those who saw a rise, although the figure is a significant improvement from the 69% more who reported falls in interest during April.

Surveyors also said some buy-to-let investors were buying property to take advantage of rising rents, while so-called predatory buyers were also looking to use of their bargaining power in a falling market.

According to RICS, 88% more surveyors thought house prices fell during June compared with those who saw a rise, although this was an improvement from the 92.2% more who saw falls in April.