House sales have recovered to pre-crisis levels, the land registry office said on Tuesday.

The number of houses sold in July reached 18,422, just above the 18,221 sold in July 2007.

The recovery is being driven by extremely low mortgage interest rates and the fall in prices during the crisis, the office said.

Sales rose in all regions, with the biggest rise in Flevoland where 44% more houses were sold compared with a year ago. The lowest rise was in Zeeland with a 19% increase.

Across the whole country, sales rose 33% compared with a year ago, and 22% compared with June.