Number of homes for sale fell in March, but many areas saw a rise in supply

Against the backdrop of the most intense period of the Brexit process to date, tens of thousands of home owners in the UK still put their properties up for sale in March, new research shows.

However, the number of new properties being listed for sale did fall in March compared with February, down 1.3% month on month and in London the number fell by 2%.

But 42% of towns and cities saw a rise in housing supply in March, according to the latest Property Supply Index which analyses the number of new properties listed each month by estate agents across more than 100 major towns and cities compiled by online estate agents House Simple.

Scotland proved a buoyant market for new supply in March, with new listings up more than 25% in three major towns, including Inverness where supply was up 56.9%. Supply also increased by 43.6% in Perth and by 26.7% in Aberdeen.

The third biggest rise in supply nationwide was an increase of 37.5% in Southport, followed by a rise of 32.8% in Huntingdon. Supply also increased by 26.5% in Rochdale, by 20.6% in Hemel Hempstead, by 20.3% in Salisbury, by 19.8% in Chelmsford and by 18.9% in Stirling.

In London the biggest increase in supply was rise of 7.8% in Barking and Dagenham, followed by a rise of 6.6% in Barnet, a rise of 4.9% in Greenwich, an increase of 4% in Wandsworth and a rise of 3.1% in Kingston upon Thames.

Sam Mitchell, chief executive officer of House Simple, said:

‘The level of seller and buyer activity has been encouragingly resilient considering the ferocity of Brexit uncertainty in March. Seller activity is slightly down on February when you look at the overall picture, but many areas have actually seen more home owners marketing in March.

‘It’s reassuring to see defiant sellers driving the market forward, particularly in many northern areas of the country, such as Yorkshire and the North West, and north of the border in Scotland.

‘All eyes remain on Westminster, but on the ground, there are plenty of sellers who see this as an opportunity to market their homes while there is less competition, and plenty of buyers motivated to purchase and lock in the best mortgage rates while the lenders are offering good terms.’

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