New property supply rises considerably across the UK

The number of new properties listed for sale in September across the UK increased by 18.1% in September and by 6.2% compared with the same month in 2017, the latest supply index shows.

There was a 45.5% rise in new sellers in London, the highest level since 2015, the data from the House Simple property supply index, which looks at the number of new properties being listed by estate agents every month in 100 major UK towns and cities.

The next highest rise was 36.2% in Cambridge, followed by a rise of 34.1% in Salisbury, 33.8% in Salford, 32.5% in Winchester, 31.7% in Poole, 27.2% in Sale, 26.8% in Rugby, 26.2% in Stevenage and 26.1% in Worthing.

The biggest fall was a decline of 37.1% in Lichfield, followed by a drop of 31.6% in Lancaster, a fall of 29.1% in Loughborough, a fall of 28% in Stoke on Trent and a fall of 26% in Chester.

A breakdown of the figures for London shows that supply has bounced back significantly from two months of double digit falls in July and August and the revival was led by the borough of Kensington and Chelsea with a rise of 96.1%.

But every London borough recorded a rise in new property supply in September. The next highest was an increase of 79.2% in Haringey, then a rise of 77.5% in Camden, a rise of 70.3% in Westminster, and a rise of 69% in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Sam Mitchell, HouseSimple chief executive officer, pointed out that while supply tends to fall off in the summer months, the rise in September has been healthy.

Sam Mitchell said:

‘It’s interesting to note that seller numbers are rising faster in London than anywhere else in the country. Understandably, a lot of home owners were choosing to wait, hoping that prices would recover quickly.

‘Now that doesn’t appear likely, the need to move is the priority. They don’t want to wait any longer and they know this is a good time to sell with plenty of motivated buyers.

‘People will always need to move whatever is happening in the housing market and wider economy. And there seems to be more of an acceptance now amongst sellers that they need to price more realistically to attract a buyer. This sensible and measured view is helping to push through more sales.’

Kindly shared by Property Wire