Ilford is the country's leading hotspot for home sales

Ilford in Essex is the country's leading property sales hotspot with an 85% rise in the number of home sales in the first half of 2010 compared with the same period of 2009, according to research from Halifax.

Croydon (73%) and Maidenhead (71%) have seen the next biggest increases. There have been considerable variations across the country in the change in property sales over the past year. However, just three towns have seen no increase in sales since last year: Blackpool (-1%), Grimsby (0%) and Sunderland (0%). These three towns have relatively low average prices.

There were 290,227 home sales in England and Wales in the first six months of 2010; 27% more than in the first half of 2009 (228,754).

16 of the top 20 towns reporting the biggest increase in sales are in London and the South East.

Most of these are towns with good commuter links to central London.

The four non-southern towns in the 20 hotspots are Stockport and Chorley in the North West, Shrewsbury in the West Midlands and Durham in the North.

The market has, in general, been slower in the north and nine of the ten towns recording the smallest rises in sales are outside London and the South East.

Suren Thiru, Halifax Housing Economist, said: "Over the past year, some towns have recorded considerable increases in the number of sales compared with 2009. Most of these towns have been in London and the South East and have good commuter links to central London. Overall, just three towns in England and Wales actually saw no increase in sales over the period."