Latest figures from its December Asking Price Index show there are 47% fewer properties for sale than in December 2007. This month, there were just 405,278 properties on the market in England and Wales, down 16.1% on December 2014's figure of 483,224.

Rightmove says that, in Bristol, the asking price growth in the year to November 30 was 8.4% - up from £255,367 to £276,778, which is still above the national average growth of 7.1%.

This is creating a vicious circle of price hikes that are set to continue throughout 2016, and follows a rise of 8% in England and Wales' property prices in 2015.

Already, regions with the biggest shortages of available housing for sale are experiencing the quickest price rises, with the East of England in particular set for continued rapid price hikes next year. Between November 2010 and November 2015, the supply of property in the East slumped by 27%, while prices in the region rocketed by 10.6% over 2015.

Scotland's housing supply fell by 13% between November 2010 and November 2015. Other areas where the supply of properties for sale dried up over the same period include the East Midlands, which saw a fall of 12%, and the West Midlands, where supply dropped by 11%. The South East is another region to experience a drought in the volume of property for sale, with supply falling 10% over the same period.

Only two areas saw an increase in housing stock for sale between November 2010 and November 2015; Yorkshire and the Humber, where supply increased by 10%, and Wales which saw a 2% rise.

For 2016, Home.co.uk is predicting a similar range of regional price rises as witnessed in 2015. However, due to further contractions in supply, the East of England and the South East are expected to outperform Greater London over the next 12 months. Buyers in Scotland, the West & East Midlands and the South West are advised to brace themselves for a year of rapid price growth as the supply crisis ripples out to these regions. Bristol estate agents have predicted rises of between six and 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, typical time on the market has also fallen due to this imbalance between high demand and low supply. According to Home.co.uk, the typical time on the market in England and Wales during in December this year is 104 days, compared to 110 days a year ago. Rightmove figures for the year to November 30 shows the average time to sell in Bristol was 33 days, compared to a national average of 62 days.

Home.co.uk director Doug Shephard commented: "Next year is set to see the vicious circle of spiralling prices and falling supply deepen even further as buyers take advantage of cheap credit to chase ever fewer properties.

"The low interest rates that have allowed the UK government to service extraordinary debt levels and fuelled an artificial house price boom look set to stay."