Winkworth all-time high light

Estate agent Winkworth today said sales had roared past their pre-credit crunch peak to all-time highs in July and August, and predicted a double-digit rise in housing transactions this year.

London, where the agent has 60 of its 95 branches, is still driving the market. However, Winkworth is also seeing signs of recovery in country markets as Funding for Lending slashes mortgage costs, according to chief executive Dominic Agace.

He said: “We’ve moved past 2007 for the first time in terms of sales and transactions.

“Sales were up 21% year on year in July. Improving sentiment is also getting more people involved with the market.”

Winkworth forecasts a 12% rise in housing transactions across the country in 2013 from last year’s 803,000, although that would still leave them below the long-term average of one million.

The agent also sees potential risks in an interest-rate rise which “could have a very substantial effect if it takes place within the next two years”.

Agace also took a swipe at Labour leader Ed Miliband’s proposals for a new levy on homes worth more than £2 million to fund a 10p tax band, calling the idea “pretty dangerous”.

“A lot of our clients would be against that,” he said.

“London is a place where people want to come and do business without being interfered with.”

Winkworth’s pre-tax profits rose by 41% to £594,633 in the first half of the year.