Transactions fell sharply in January, the haart chain has reported.

Based on its own data, it says that houses sales measured at exchange were 9.5% down in volume from December, and 16.6% down on January last year.

The firm said that house prices were also down – 0.5% on the month and 3.5% year on year.

New buyer demand rose by 7.8% in January compared with the month before, but was down by 37% on the year.

The number of new properties coming to the market was 0.3% down on December and nearly 2% on the year.

Haart CEO Paul Smith said that “a multitude of barriers” are stopping buyers from taking the plunge.