February sees 20 per cent more sellers listing their homes across the UK

Research by online estate agents HouseSimple.com has found 

The UK property market saw a 20 per cent increase in sellers listing their properties last month, according to research carried out by online estate agents HouseSimple.com. This follows a 40 per cent boost in new supply in January.

The latest Property Supply Index from HouseSimple, which looks at the number of new properties listed by estate agents across 100 major UK towns and cities, shows that total new estate agent listings rose from 56,041 in January to 67,182 last month. However, comparing February 2018 with February 2017, the number of new sellers coming onto the market was just 2.5 per cent higher.

More than nine out of ten (93%) towns and cities saw an increase in new sellers in February compared to January, with Dundee – 82.2 per cent rise in new listings – at the top of the pile.  Edinburgh saw a 75.9 per cent increase in supply in February compared to January, while new listings were up 53.3 per cent in Glasgow last month. Other towns that saw a substantial rise in new sellers in February were Hereford (80.3%), Bath (70.9%) and Rotherham (67.1%).

At the other end of the table, new property supply dropped off 16.4 per cent in Rugby, making the Warwickshire town the area that experienced the most significant downturn in property supply in February. Stevenage (down 14.5%) and Oldham (down 12.2%) also saw a drop off in property supply last month. 

The following table shows the ten UK towns and cities which saw the highest number of new sellers in February versus January:  

Town/City	Region	% increase in new listings in Feb vs. Jan
Dundee	Scotland	82.2%
Hereford	West Midlands	80.3%
Edinburgh	Scotland	75.9%
Bath	South West	70.9%
Rotherham	Yorkshire and the Humber	67.1%
Sale	North West	64.8%
Middlesbrough	Yorkshire and the Humber	57.4%
Woking	South East	56.5%
Runcorn	North West	56.3%
Glasgow	Scotland	53.3%

London

In London, new property listings were up (from 24,004 in January to 27,573 in February), but slightly below the UK average, with property supply rising 14.9 per cent last month. Barking & Dagenham (32.5%), Lambeth (29.8%) and the City of Westminster (24.2%) saw the largest rises in new sellers in February vs January.

The following table shows the 10 London boroughs which saw the highest number of new sellers in February versus January:

London Borough	% increase in new listings in Feb vs. Jan
Barking and Dagenham	32.5%
Lambeth	29.8%
City of Westminster	24.2%
Hounslow	23.1%
Redbridge	22.7%
Hackney	22.3%
Wandsworth	21.5%
Merton	20.5%
Greenwich	18.4%
Havering	18.0%

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, comments: “It’s encouraging to see that a healthy January in terms of replenishing stock levels has been followed by a strong February. However, before we crack open the champagne, we do need to put this increase into perspective. The number of new sellers marketing last month was actually only 2.5 per cent higher than the corresponding month in 2017. This suggests that rather than a sudden rush of sellers, that we have simply seen normal seller numbers in January and February after an extremely slow December. 

“The cold hard facts are that the property market is still in dire need of more stock, but at least stock levels are going in the right direction and sellers should hopefully be encouraged by signs that buyers are showing more intent to make offers. The next couple of months, as we enter the Spring period, will be crucial to maintain momentum, and especially this year as Brexit rhetoric ramps up. The market has proved robust enough to deflect Brexit concerns so far, but a slow Spring could leave the market vulnerable if the UK economy begins to stutter.”