New property listings plummet for third month claims online agency

New data reveals that new property listings have fallen for three successive months - and that includes a huge 17.1 per cent fall in August alone in Greater London. 

Research by online agency HouseSimple, analysing market activity in 100 major UK towns and cities suggests that new property supply dropped below 62,000 in August - the lowest for seven months. 

Across the UK as a whole, listings of new properties dropped 6.9 per cent on average - but London’s decline was well over twice that national figure.

Specific location figures identify King’s Lynn as suffering the largest downturn last month - a massive 36.4 per cent down on July. Rugby in the West Midlands saw almost a third fewer new listings - down 31.7 per cent. 

Other major declines were spotted in Sale, Inverness, Falmouth, Cambridge, Poole, Dundee and Guildford. 

Conversely Stoke-on-Trent and Lichfield bucked the trend - with a vengeance - and experienced a 40 per cent boost in new property stock last month.

Other major increases were recorded in Barnsley, Oldham, Lincoln, Chelmsford, Chichester, Perth, Maidstone and Middlesbrough.

Looking at London in detail, HouseSimple reports that August’s 17.1 per cent drop in new supply followed a 12.7 per cent drop in July. 

New supply in the capital has now fallen almost 30 per cent from its high in June, and every London borough saw fewer new listings in August than the previous month.

The boroughs of Barnet and Haringey saw the largest drop in new property listings, down 30.4 per cent in August versus July. Barking and Dagenham saw the smallest fall in new listings, down just 1.2 per cent.

“Now we are entering one of the traditionally busy periods for the property market. We would expect to see a significant increase in new listings in September and October and sellers will face stiffer competition. But priced correctly, properties are selling despite the Brexit cloud looming overhead” explains HouseSimple chief executive Sam Mitchell.