Transactions have continued to decline, the Land Registry has reported.

Between May and August – the latest month for which it has available data – there was an average of 77,046 sales per month.

During the same period last year, the figure was 82,748.

In August itself, there was a significant 15% drop in transactions – 74,596 compared with 87,895 in August the previous year.

There were drops in every single price bracket.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1m in August was down 13%, but transactions in lower price brackets were also much reduced. For example, sales in the £200,001-£250,000 bracket were down 30%.

In London, overall transactions were down 20%, with falls in all but two price brackets. Sales of properties over £2m were down 24% and properties costing over £1.5m were down 35%.

However, the biggest falls were in the lowest price brackets – for example, down 57% in the £200,001-£250,000 bracket, suggesting that there was little stock around priced at lower levels.

According to the Land Registry, the average house price across England and Wales in October stood at £186,350, up 5.6% on October last year.

In London, the average price was £503,431.