According to the property website, Zoopla, house prices in the UK are expected to finish 2020 on a high.

Despite the recession, lockdown and economic downturn, the housing market has seen a boom and this year will see £62bn more in agreed sales than last year.

Zoopla said that house prices rose by 3.9% in November and the cost of an average home in the UK reached £223,000.

House prices are expected to continue to rise into 2021, according to real estate firm Rightmove. Asking prices rose almost 7% this year and are expected to rise a further 4% over the next 12 months.

“It will be a busy start to 2021. The New Year is typically a time for resolutions for the year ahead, and many will see it as an opportunity to draw a line under 2020, which may well include a fresh start in a new home for those who have not already acted.  Many have already done so since the English market re-opened in May, and many more are continuing to do so despite the seasonally quieter run-up to the Christmas period and the declining chance of completing a purchase before the stamp duty deadline,” said Rightmove.

The stamp duty is set to end in March and house prices are expected to see a dip. The Office for Budget Responsibility has said the current boom will come to a close as the UK will see a spike in unemployment.

“House prices fell briefly as the pandemic struck, but recent indicators suggest they have subsequently recovered quite strongly,” the Office for Budget Responsibility said.

“This follows the easing of public health restrictions and the stamp duty holiday for residential property transactions that took effect on 8 July 2020. House prices are expected to fall back in 2021, driven by end of the stamp duty holiday and the hit to household incomes from the labour market adjustment that we assume will follow the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

“Despite a steady recovery from 2022 onwards, the level of house prices remains around 17 per cent lower at the forecast horizon compared to our March forecast.”