Across the UK, new property listings have fallen for the second consecutive month since the General Election in June as a pinched Tory victory, Brexit fears and declining house prices deterred sellers.
In June, new property listings were down 1.9% and fell 1.6% in July, according to online estate agent HouseSimple.com.
WHERE IN THE UK WERE THE BIGGEST DECLINES AND INCREASES?
Newquay, King’s Lynn and Perth experienced the biggest decreases in new property listings in July compared to June, while Dundee, Truro and Ely benefitted from the highest increases.
'Right now it feels like sellers aren't really sure what to do' comments HouseSimple.com CEO Alex Gosling.
'There is so much negative press around Brexit and very little confidence in the government after such a calamitous election campaign; and fear and uncertainty is weighing heavily on house price growth.'
He believes that September could mark a strong comeback in terms of activity.
HAVE LOWER LISTINGS AFFECTED ESTATE AGENTS + OTHER PROPERTY STOCKS?
Some UK-listed estate agents are feeling the effects as Countrywide (CWD) has suffered a 13.5% drop in its share price this year. Since the General Election on 8 June, the stock’s underperformance has been less pronounced as it is currently down 1.5%.
In contrast, shares in Foxtons (FOXT) have retreated 4% since the snap election, which is a worse performance compared to its 2.6% decline since the start of the year.
Property listings site Rightmove (RMV) is down 5.2% since June, but has performed solidly overall as the share price is up 4.2% since 3 January.
Disruptive online estate agent Purplebricks (PURP:AIM) has also bucked the trend and is thriving as the share price has rocketed by 70% over 2017.
