Supply of homes coming to the market slumps once again

The supply of homes coming to the market has slumped again according to a monthly survey conducted by online agency HouseSimple.

September saw an increase in supply but this was reversed with a vengeance in October, during which the total number of new properties marketed by agents across the UK last month was down 4.3 per cent. 

HouseSimple's measure, based on an analysis of 100 major UK towns and cities, shows that 75 per cent of locations saw supply fall back last month. 

The largest falls were in Torquay (down 37.4 per cent) and Oxford (down 37.0 per cent) while Wolverhampton also has the unenviable accolade of being the only city in the UK where new property listings have fallen for five consecutive months.

In London - where new property supply shot up by more than 40 per cent in September - supply has dropped off in October, down 1.2 per cent on the previous month. 

Only two boroughs Ealing (where supply was up 10.4 per cent) and Enfield (up10.1 per cent), saw double digit rises in new property listings last month over September.

Alex Gosling, HouseSimple's chief executive, says the market is in desperate need of a prolonged period of supply growth rather than isolated months where seller numbers rise, only to fall back the following month. 

"We probably won’t see numbers jump again this year, but steady levels in November and December would at least give the market a strong base going into the New Year, particularly with some heavy Brexit headwinds heading our way" he adds.