According to figures, the recent heatwave may have been responsible for a cooling of new property listings. HouseSimple found that new property listings fell by 6% across the UK in July, and by 12.7% in London, as people made the most of the warm weather and held off marketing their homes.
The data shows that 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. After new supply levels in London reached a three-year high last month, July listings fell significantly, with new listings down 12.7% versus June, and every borough except Newham seeing stock levels fall.
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 up 42.8% in July.
However the UK-wide figures mask the reality that in more than half (55.7%) of the towns and cities analysed, new stock levels were up in July vs June.
Sam Mitchell, CEO of HouseSimple, commented: “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, and then the hope is for a strong September as we enter the crucial Autumn period up to Christmas.
However, for sellers 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.”
