February saw 9,188 sale and purchase agreements for all types of building units, 4.3% more than January and 43.3% higher than a year earlier, the Land Registry says.

Using a 12-month moving average, the figure represented a 2.7% rise over January but a 9.8% fall compared with the same period last year.

The total consideration of these agreements was $26.6 billion, down 2.1% from January but up 60.8% over a year earlier.

Among the 9,188 sale and purchase agreements, 7,804 were for residential units. This was a 4.3% increase over January and a 45.4% surge compared with February last year. The total consideration of these agreements was $22.1 billion, up 3.7% over January and 62.5% on a year earlier.

The month also saw 9,131 building unit assignments, 28.9% lower than January. This also represented a 0.4% dip over a year earlier. The total consideration involved was $23.3 billion, 44.3% less when compared with January but 1.2% higher on the same period last year.