As the NAEA Propertymark data for December suggested that available stock had increased by 20% from November’s figures, a recent property index from online estate agents HouseSimple suggests that the number of available properties coming to the market is over three times December’s stock levels.
The index, that focused on over 100 large UK towns and cities, has found that new property listings increased by an average of 64% in January, with available stock rising from 31,825 in December to 52,207 in January.
The stock index also indicates that London has also improved by 70.6% from the 12,709 available properties in December to 21,677 in January.
When you break the figures down into location, it would seem that all areas are enjoying increased stock coming to the market. In January, Bromley’s property stock grew by 270% with other areas like Hastings also rising by over 200% compared with December’s stock.
Sam Mitchell, CEO of HouseSimple.com, comments: “We would normally expect to see activity pick up in the New Year, but no-one was quite sure how sellers and buyers would react to the amplified Brexit uncertainty in January. In the end, it proved to be a busy month for sellers in particular, and even with the distraction of the Commons vote mid-month, homeowners were keen to make up for lost time.
“We are seeing a ‘life goes on’ attitude amongst homeowners, and many view the current political climate as an opportunity to market and secure a sale while there is less competition around.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the next few months pans out. If the odds improve on a Brexit deal, we could see a cavalry charge of sellers putting their homes on the market. What we won’t necessarily see is an immediate surge in buyers, and savvy sellers may see this period of Brexit limbo as the perfect opportunity to market and have the pick of the buyers out there.”
Do these figures suggest that the property market will remain active despite Brexit uncertainty?
