THE UK property market has still not recovered from the 2007 financial crash, with sales struggling, according to financial experts.

Analysis of Land Registry data shows that there were on average 43,898 sales each month between January 1995 and December 2007, compared to just 27,023 between January 2008 and the present.

The study by online estate agent House Simple found that the worst month since 1995 for completed property transactions was February 2009, with just 3,251 properties sold.

This compares with the best month, July 1999, when there were 18,420 completed transactions.

The research shows that the devastating financial crash has left a legacy of financial pain for house hunters.

The worrying figures reveal that in September 2017 there were 25,477 completed transactions, more than 18,000 fewer than the average monthly sales before 2008.

“These figures show the lasting impact the global financial crisis has had on the UK property market,” said Sam Mitchell, House Simple chief executive officer.

He added: “Although monthly numbers have recovered and are more than twice the level they were in 2009, completed transactions still appear extremely low.

“Leading up to the financial crisis in 2008, we were seeing a countrywide, and unsustainable buying frenzy. Since the crash, and post-2009 when pretty much every UK town and city saw property transactions hit rock bottom.”

The study found that, since 1995, the highest single month for sales was May 2002 where 61,904 transactions were completed. The lowest number was 11,740 in January 2009.