New property listings in UK down by over 13% in August, latest figures show
The total number of new property listings across the UK fell 13.1% in August compared to July with Coventry and Winchester seeing the biggest falls, new research shows.
August is historically a quiet month for sellers marketing their properties but even taking this into account, the total number of new properties listed for sale last month was down 5.9% on the corresponding month in 2016.
The research from online estate agent HouseSimple also shows that overall two thirds of towns and cities saw a drop in new properties being marketed month on month.
Other locations seeing larger falls in supply included Salford, down 28.5%, Oxford down 25.6%, Durham down 25%, Hemel Hempstead down 24.7%, London down 22.3%, Basingstoke down 22.2%, York down 22.1% and Chelmsford down 21.7%.
The areas with the biggest rise in supply were led by Darlington with a rise of 29.9%, followed by Falmouth up 28.6%, Warwick up 28%, Truro up 24.4%. Exmouth and King’s Lynn both up 17.2%, Bootle up 16.8%, Weston Super Mare up 16.6%, Hartlepool up 12.3% and Loughborough up 12.2%.
In London 30 out of 32 boroughs seeing recorded a fall in new listings last month. Richmond saw the biggest fall of 42.2% of any borough for the second consecutive month. Only Bexley and Sutton saw an increase in property supply with a rise of 17.4% and 8.4% respectively.
‘August tends to be a quiet month for property transactions and new sales instructions. Not surprisingly, supply fell substantially as the country went on its summer break but few people will be concerned by the drop off in new listings. More of a concern is the 5.9% drop off when comparing last month with the corresponding month in 2016. Supply continues to be a major issue,’ said Alex Gosling, the firm’s chief executive officer.
‘The property market needs a strong September after a subdued period since the general election. Hopefully a line will have been drawn under the first half of the year, concerns about economic conditions will have dissipated, and buyers and sellers will come back from their summer break with renewed confidence to move forward,’ he added.
Kindly shared by PropertyWire
