House sales in the UK are continuing to revive after their post-Christmas slump, figures have suggested.

HM Revenue & Customs said sales rose by 13,000 in March from February to 72,000, a jump of 22%.

The level of sales was also 24% higher than in March last year, when the market was at its most depressed.

However, sales are still less than half the number reported at the same stage of 2007, before the market collapsed under the impact of the credit crunch.

For the first three months of 2010 as a whole, completed sales, at 182,000, were 28% higher than in the first quarter of last year, highlighting the extent to which activity has picked up since early last year.

In the past week, estate agents and surveyors have both reported a big rise in the number of people putting their homes up for sale.

However, a big rise in sales between February and March is normal for the UK property market.

Source: BBC News