Homesellers defy Brexit as 4 in 10 towns saw increases in property supply

Against the backdrop of the most intense period of the Brexit process to date, tens of thousands of homeowners took the plunge and pushed ahead with selling their homes in March.

More than four in 10 (42%) towns and cities saw a rise in housing supply in March, while new property listings across the UK a whole fell slightly last month, down 1.3% (from 57,992 in February to 57,225 in March), according to the latest Property Supply Index, compiled by Housesimple.

The Property Supply Index analyses the number of new properties listed each month by estate agents across more than 100 major UK towns and cities. In London, although new supply was down 2% in March compared to February, four in 10 boroughs saw new supply levels rise last month.

Scotland proved a buoyant market for new supply in March, with new listings up more than 25% in three major towns north of the border, including Inverness where supply was up 56.9% last month versus February.

The following table shows the UK towns and cities which saw the biggest increase in new sellers listing their properties in March 2019 vs February 2019:

Town/City	Region	% increase in new listings in March 2019 vs February 2019
Inverness	Scotland	56.9
Perth	Scotland	43.6
Southport	North West	37.5
Huntingdon	East	32.8
Aberdeen	Scotland	26.7
Rochdale	North West	26.5
Hemel Hempstead	East	20.6
Salisbury	South West	20.3
Chelmsford	East	19.8
Stirling	Scotland	18.9

The following table shows the five London boroughs which saw the biggest rise in the number of new sellers listing their properties in March 2019 vs February 2019:

London Borough	% increase in new listings in March 2019 vs February 2019
Barking & Dagenham	7.8
Barnet	6.6
Greenwich	4.9
Wandsworth	4.0
Kingston upon Thames	3.1

Sam Mitchell, CEO of Housesimple, comments: “The level of seller and buyer activity has been encouragingly resilient considering the ferocity of Brexit uncertainty in March. Seller activity is slightly down on February when you look at the overall picture, but many areas have actually seen more homeowners marketing in March. It’s reassuring to see defiant sellers driving the market forward, particularly in many northern areas of the country, such as Yorkshire and the North West, and north of the border in Scotland.

“All eyes remain on Westminster, but on the ground, there are plenty of sellers who see this as an opportunity to market their homes while there is less competition, and plenty of buyers motivated to purchase and lock in the best mortgage rates while the lenders are offering good terms.”