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New property listings nosedived in June as Brexit fear gripped sellers

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
13/07/2016

New property listings plummeted across the UK in June as fear and uncertainty around Brexit deterred sellers from putting their home on the market.

More than two-thirds of UK towns and cities saw new property listings fall last month, with supply down 13% in London alone, according to data from online estate agents HouseSimple.com.

The firm tracks the number of properties marketed every month in more than 100 major towns and cities in the UK and all London boroughs.

Lichfield and Winchester registered the biggest drop in supply in June, with new property listings down 37% and 36.5% respectively.

Chesterfield, Salisbury, Exmouth and Hartlepool also experienced big falls.

Bucking the trend were Scottish towns Inverness and Stirling, where new listings were up 30.5% and 18.5% respectively.

High Wycombe, Runcorn and Luton also saw listings rise in June.

In London, Wandsworth and Waltham Forest saw the biggest drop in supply, both down 34.9%. This followed big rises in supply in May in both boroughs.

Only five out of the 32 boroughs saw an increase in supply in June – Barnet and Barking and Dagenham.

Alex Gosling, chief executive of HouseSimple.com, said: “Fear and uncertainty over the Brexit vote definitely had an impact on buyer and seller confidence in June, with many sellers holding off putting their properties on the market until the result was known. Now we know, and although the decision has come as a bit of a shock, at least a degree of uncertainty has been taken out of the equation.

“The property market can now roll up its sleeves and get on with it. Nothing has fundamentally changed overnight and people still need to buy and sell homes whatever the market conditions.

“We still have a supply shortage, and this may well counter any fallout from Brexit. There were concerns about the London market faltering, but demand is still strong in the capital and the weak pound should attract foreign investors looking to pick up bargains – particularly at the top end of the market.”

He added: “For the rest of the year, we may see a small dip in prices as there are choppy seas ahead, but it’s certainly not the ‘end of the world’ levels predicted by some doom-mongers. Supply should hopefully edge up, as fears around the impact of Brexit dissipate, and sellers feel more confident about market conditions and the wider global economy.”

YMoney.towns and cities.FALLS

YMoney.towns and cities.RISES