Early Autumn supply boost as 18% more sellers put their property on the market in September

The number of new properties listed for sale in September across the UK was up almost a fifth compared to the previous month, according to the latest Property Supply Index compiled by online estate agents Housesimple.com  

 

New supply was up 18.1% last month across major UK towns and cities, rising from 61,472 in August to 72,593 in September. Although this hike can be attributed to some degree to the lull over the summer period when families head off on their holidays, the number of new properties marketed was also up 6.2% on September 2017.

 

The Property Supply Index looks at the number of new properties being listed by estate agents every month in 100 major UK towns and cities.

 

London saw a huge 45.5% increase in new listings in September, more than twice the UK average. This was the highest level of new supply coming to the market in the capital in any single month since pre-2015.

 

The following table shows the ten UK towns and cities which saw the biggest rise  in new sellers in September versus August:

Town/City	Region	% Increase in new listings Sept vs Aug
London	South East	45.5%
Cambridge	East	36.2%
Salisbury	South West	34.1%
Salford	North West	33.8%
Winchester	South	32.5%
Poole	South	31.7%
Sale	North West	27.2%
Rugby	West Midlands	26.8%
Stevenage	South East	26.2%
Worthing	South East	26.1%

 

The following table shows the five UK towns and cities which saw the biggest drop off in new sellers in September versus August:

Town/City	Region	% Decrease in new listings Sept vs Aug
Lichfield	West Midlands	-37.1%
Lancaster	North West	-31.6%
Loughborough	East Midlands	-29.1%
Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	-28.0%
Chester	North West	-26.0%

 

 

London

Following double digits falls in new supply in July and August, supply bounced back in September, with new listings up 45.5% compared to August.

 

Every London borough saw at least a 20% rise in new property supply in September, with Kensington & Chelsea, an area favoured by foreign investors, recording a huge 96.1% increase in new listings last month.

 

The following table shows the five London boroughs which saw the biggest rise in the number of new sellers in September vs August:

London Borough	% Increase in September vs August
Kensington & Chelsea	96.1%
Haringey	79.2%
Camden	77.5%
City of Westminster	70.3%
Hammersmith & Fulham	69.0%

 

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, comments: “It was one of the hottest summers on record and buyer and seller activity inevitably dropped off in July and August. But come September, it was very much business as usual. We saw a healthy level of new properties being listed last month, in what is traditionally a busy period for estate agents.

 

It’s interesting to note that seller numbers are rising faster in London than anywhere else in the country. Understandably, a lot of homeowners were choosing to wait, hoping that prices would recover quickly. Now that doesn’t appear likely, the need to move is the priority. They don’t want to wait any longer and they know this is a good time to sell with plenty of motivated buyers. 

 

“It’s not so much a case of beating the Brexit rush for the door, but more life has to go on. People will always need to move whatever is happening in the housing market and the wider economy. And there seems to be more of an acceptance now amongst sellers that they need to price more realistically to attract a buyer. This sensible and measured view is helping to push through more sales which wasn’t the case before the summer.”