New property listings fell by almost 2% in June in the UK

New property listings in the UK overall were down 1.9% in June 2019 month on month, but more than 60,000 new listings hit the market for the second month in a row, the latest supply index shows.

The biggest fall was in the South East of England at 11.1% followed by the South of England at 8.7%, while the North West recorded the biggest rise at 3.9%, according to the data from online estate agent Housesimple.

The towns and cities leading the decline in new property listings included Canterbury with a fall of 31%, Truro down 30.3%, Warwick down 29.7%, Shrewsbury down 29% and Huddersfield down 26.5%.

Yet despite most of the UK experiencing a steady deceleration in property listings, the North West bucked the trend as the number of new properties for sale in the region increased by 3.92% on a monthly basis.

The number of new listings increased in Salford by 7.7%, followed by Liverpool up 6.3%, Rochdale up 5.9% and St Helens up 1.5%.

In London there was a 2% month on month increase in property listings, with more properties listed in June than any other month this year. Just 10 of the 32 boroughs saw new supply levels fall. Newham and Lambeth were the best performers, with a rise of 17.1% and 16.4% respectively.

‘Although new property supply fell slightly in June, new listings still exceeded 60,000 for the second month in a row, as new sellers took advantage of the better weather and reduced Brexit uncertainty to market their properties,’ said Sam Mitchell, Housesimple chief executive officer.

‘The North/South divide has long been a feature of the UK property market, reflected in both property supply and prices to show the consistent growth of northern regions. Albeit marginal, the fact that house prices continue to climb overall demonstrates the resilience of the UK property market and reflects the more favourable economic factors including low unemployment and low interest rates at present,’ he explained.

‘We’d expect to see momentum continue in July before slowing during August, as people go away for their summer holidays. However, savvy sellers can still benefit from listing their property during high summer, as they face less competition for buyers,’ he added.