New data has indicated that May saw a 7% rise in property supply across the UK.
Following a fall of 4% in April, the HouseSimple research suggests that the increase was due to sellers rushing to secure an offer on their property prior to tomorrow’s General Election (08/06/17).
In comparison to April, almost 80% of towns and cities experienced an increase in new property listings. Barnsley saw the most significant increase (74.6%) with Wolverhampton and Canterbury at 52.1% and 51.9% respectively.
The HouseSimple research did indicate regional fluctuation, however, with supply levels in recent months changing dramatically.
An example of this is Northampton, which saw new listings grow significantly during April, up by 30.2%. In May, however, this figure seemed to roll back, with new listings dropping by 25.1%.
The fluctuation in supply was much more subdued in London during May, with property listings growing by 5.2%.
There was, however, more pronounced supply changes in Newsham and Sutton, with levels over April and May experiencing significant rises and falls. New listings in Newsham increased by 23.5% during April compared to the drop of 15.8% during May. Sutton saw listings fall by 28.1% in May and experienced a similar supply fall of 19.2% in April.
Commenting on the property supply data was Alex Gosling. The CEO of HouseSimple drew attention to the impact that a General Election can have on the housing market, stating: “Political and economic uncertainty surrounding a General Election can often see sellers hold off marketing until after the result is known. However, the 7% rise in May suggests many sellers aren’t waiting and marketed their properties last month to try and secure an offer before the Election result.
“There is something to be said for doing this. The Spring period, traditionally a buoyant time for the property market, has been knocked off kilter by Article 50 being invoked and the PM calling a General Election. As a result, we could see a late Spring bounce after the Election result, with a stampede of sellers putting their properties onto the market before the summer holidays. It doesn’t give home sellers a lot of time to secure a sale and the savvy and committed seller, willing to negotiate on price could well have seen an opportunity to beat this stampede and steal a march on their competition.”
