Londoners spark suburban housing boom

The top 10 is dominated by the capital’s outlying suburbs and up-and-coming London boroughs, such as Haringey and Hackney, but southern cities such as Bristol, ranked sixth, and Brighton and Hove, 12th, also scored highly on the index.

The top half of the list also included York, Cardiff and Northampton, above the London boroughs of Camden and Westminster.

“Central London areas have overheated so much that people are sidestepping into the next area,” said Mr Quirk. “Ten years ago no one wanted to move to Hackney, and now it’s the next best thing. There is no question that London has now overheated.”

The average sale price as a percentage of asking price has increased sharply since the turn of the year, especially in London where it is over 98pc, with gazumping back in vogue and estate agents resorting to a sealed process to manage the demand per property.

“We have numerous examples of properties achieving ridiculous levels of interest, multiple offers and prices that are sometimes well in excess of the original price asked,” he said.

He joined the chorus of expert voices claiming that price hikes across Greater London are not sustainable and that “interest rate rises will act as a natural cap”.

The demand is even rising in areas less used to a booming market, said Mr Quirk. He said a semi-detached house in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, listed on March 12 and primed for a quick sale, was bought two days later after six viewings, at just £5,000 under its £300,000 expectation.

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