New property listings in November fell by almost a quarter (22%) when compared to October.
The housing market has already packed up for Christmas and homeowners will wait until the New Year to sell, or so claims online estate agents HouseSimple.com.
It saidnew property listings in November fell by almost a quarter (22%) when compared to October. And when it looked at new property supply across 100 major UK towns and cities in November it found that more than two thirds (67%) had seen fewer new sellers marketing their properties.
For instance Bath saw a reduction in property listings of 50% on October whilst Watford saw 40% fewer new sellers advertising their properties.
In the Capital, new sellers in November tumbled by almost a third (30.3%) on October. And 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 online estate agents HouseSimple.com, said: “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.”
