New property listings fell by 6% across the country from June to July, as Brits made the most of the hot weather and held off marketing their homes, online estate agents HouseSimple.com has found.
New property listings fell by 6% across the country from June to July, as Brits made the most of the hot weather and held off marketing their homes, online estate agents HouseSimple.com has found.
This was even more pronounced in London, where new listings fell by 12.7%.
Sam Mitchell, chief executive of HouseSimple.com,said:“The summer months tend to see a drop off in buyer and seller activity as families head overseas on their holidays.
“This year, more families chose to stay at home and we might have expected to see a mini boost in supply as a result. However, no-one predicted we’d have such a glorious July, and it’s hardly surprising people headed to the beach rather than the estate agent.
“There’s no evidence to suggest that buyers and sellers are withdrawing, and even yesterday’s rate rise, is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on the market.
“We may well see subdued seller activity in August as more hot weather is predicted, andthen the hope is for a strong September as we enter the crucial Autumn period up to Christmas.
"However, forsellers who might want to steal a march on the competition, putting your property on in August when stock levels are lower could pay dividends, as buyers will have less choice over the next few weeks.”
The number of new homeowners listing their properties fell below 67,000 in July, after surpassing 70,000 in June.In London, July was the first monthly dip in new supply since December 2017.
July and August are traditionally quieter months both for buyers viewing properties and sellers listing homes but in more than half(55.7%)of the towns and cities analysed, new stock levels were up in July compared to June.
As for specific towns, Blackburn in the North West, saw the largest drop off in supply last month, with new listings down almost half(48.6%)on June. While, new supply in Poole was up42.8%in July.
After new supply levels in London reached a three-year high last month, July listings fell significantly, with new listings down12.7%versus June, and every borough except Newham seeing stock levels fall.
Camden saw almost a third fewer new homeowners listing their properties in July compared to the previous month.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and the borough of Hackney, saw new property listings fall26.1%and24.1%respectively from June to July. Newham(11.9%)was the only London borough to register an increase in supply.
