Around 16,000 houses were sold in June, nearly 70% more than in the year-earlier period, the land registry office said on Wednesday.

Compared with May, the increase was 60%.
Such strong growth is not usual for the time of year and the land registry says it is probably due to the expected increase in tax on conveyancing fees.
However, the first six months of the year saw house sales rise just 1.2% compared with the same period in 2011.
Detached houses sold best with sales nearly doubling.
The biggest increase was in the province of Brabant where sales rose 96%. Friesland saw the lowest increase at 47%.
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