New listings fall by a quarter as housing market 'packs up for Christmas'

More than two thirds (67%) of UK towns and cities saw fewer new sellers marketing their properties last month.

Bath is a popular city with home buyers, particularly families moving out of London, but new stock is currently hard to come by with new property listings down 50% on October. While, in Watford, a commuter town, there were 40% fewer new sellers advertising their properties last month.

In London, new sellers in November tumbled by almost a third (30.3%) on October. There wasn’t a single London borough that saw supply rise last month, with Kingston upon Thames experiencing a 42.5% drop in new property listings.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple, commented: “There tends to be a drop off in activity as we approach Christmas, but this year the slowdown has started earlier. It’s been a tough year for the property market having to contend with the aftermath of a disastrous General Election and the fallout from Article 50 being invoked. And with generally negative Brexit news every day, that takes its toll. Homeowners may be feeling a little jaded and simply decided it’s best to take stock and start afresh in January.

“On a more positive note, the housing market received a welcome boost in the Autumn Budget, with the Chancellor announcing that he was cutting stamp duty for first time buyers. This will hopefully stimulate the bottom end of the market, and feed through to increased housing supply as people further up the chain see more active buyers. More than ever, we need a strong first quarter as 2018 is set to be a challenging year as Brexit talks gather pace.”