Does sharper-than-usual stock fall-off mean a difficult 2017?

The seasonal slowdown in property supply was much sharper than usual in December, claims an online agency which monitors property listings across the UK.

HouseSimple claims new property listings across the UK were down 46.9 per cent, with significant falls in almost every town and city. 

The agency looks at data on more than 500,000 properties listed for sale, to track the number of new properties marketed every month in more than 100 major towns and cities across the UK and all London boroughs.

In Southport, new property listings fell by more than 71 per cent; in Rugby they were down by 70 per cent. Only Salford and Telford saw property listings increase – up 8.5 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively in December.

The capital saw a larger than average drop in new properties being advertised, with the supply of new homes down by 53.6 per cent. In London, the boroughs of Bromley and Enfield saw the sharpest drop-off in new listings, down 62.3 per cent and 60.2 per cent respectively.

“Most people wait until January to put their house on the market - as a result, a slowdown in new listings is typical. But the December just gone was particularly slow and the fear is this steep drop-off could hail the start of a more tentative market as inflation starts to rise and people feel less confident” claims HouseSimple chief executive Alex Gosling.