Property supply falls in 50% in UK towns and cities

Concerning data has revealed that more than half of towns and cities in the UK saw a fall in property supply during May.

The report from HouseSimple does show however that overall supply has risen by 4.8%.

Property supply falls

According to the investigation, the largest falls were seen in Southport and Loughborough, where supply was down by 28% and 24.1% respectively.

Of the areas that saw a fall in supply, 47% were in the North of England.

In terms of increases, Litchfield in the West Midlands recorded the largest rise of 55.8% in May, in comparison to April. Chesterfield (35.7%) and Rugby (32.5%) were other regions that saw marked increases over the same period.

One-third of areas showing the largest increases in supply were in the Midlands.

Despite a fall in supply in property in the capital, 53% of the 32 boroughs of London saw a rise in new housing listings. Of these, the largest rise was seen in Waltham Forest with 31% month-on-month. Merton saw supply rise by 30%.

Property supply falls in 50% in UK towns and cities

Listings

Alex Gosling, CEO of House Simple, said, ‘although property supply was up in May, in large swathes of the country, the number of new properties listed fell. Could this be due to the Brexit effect? The scare tactics on both sides of the EU referendum debate are likely to be chipping away at the confidence of buyers and sellers. And with the Brexit vote less than three weeks away, we could well see a significant drop off in activity at a time when historically there is a lot of activity in the property market.’[1]

‘On the flip side, this could actually provide an opportunity for prospective buyers, who have their finance in place and can move fast, as they may be able to negotiate a good deal with motivated sellers keen to tie up a sale before 23^rd June,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/over-50-of-uk-towns-saw-property-supply-fall-in-may.html