New listings drop 13% in August

HouseSimple says that although August is historically a quiet month for sellers marketing their properties, the number of new properties listed for sale last month was also down 5.9% on August 2016.

Two thirds of towns and cities saw a drop in new properties being marketed in August vs July, with Coventry (33.0%) and Winchester (31.1%) experiencing the largest falls in new listings last month.

New property supply in the capital fell 22.3% in August with 30 out of 32 London boroughs seeing a drop off in new listings. Richmond saw the biggest fall, down 42.2%, of any borough for the second consecutive month. Only Bexley (17.4%) and Sutton (8.4%) saw an increase in property supply in August vs. July.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple, commented: “August tends to be a quiet month for property transactions and new sales instructions. Not surprisingly, supply fell substantially as the country went on its summer break.

“Few people will be concerned by the drop off in new listings between July and August. More of a concern is the 5.9% drop off when comparing last month with the corresponding month in 2016. Supply continues to be a major issue.

“We never saw the post General Election boost in supply as sellers were worried about a lack of clarity around Brexit. Unfortunately, the Government has barely made a scratch on the surface when it comes to negotiations with the EU. But the initial panic has subsided, the General Election is a distant memory and property prices have stabilised.

“The property market needs a strong September after a subdued period since the General Election. Hopefully a line will have been drawn under the first half of the year, concerns about economic conditions will have dissipated, and buyers and sellers will come back from their summer break with renewed confidence to move forward.”