New property nosedive: Listings for new homes across the UK have plummeted by more than a fifth in November

After three months of small rises, new property listings fell by a staggering 21.5 percent across the UK in November, according to the latest Property Supply Index compiled by online estate agents HouseSimple.com. This is the biggest drop in property supply in any one month since the Index launched in May 2015.

To compile its Property Supply Index, HouseSimple.com tracks the number of new properties listed on Rightmove every month, in more than 100 major towns and cities across the UK and London boroughs.

Bath experienced the biggest drop in property supply in November, with new property listings down 42.6 percent, following a steady decline in supply each month since June. According to Rightmove figures, only 135 new properties in Bath were listed in November, compared to a high of 284 in June.

West Midland cities, Worcester and Solihull, saw new property listings drop 41 percent and 39 percent respectively in November. While the North-West of England had five towns/cities in the 15 worst regions in the UK in terms of the biggest falls in new housing stock.

Chichester and Salford were the only towns in the UK to see an increase in new property listings in November compared to October, with rises of 14.8 percent and 11.6 percent respectively. According to Rightmove figures, Bootle and Swansea have seen the biggest swing in property supply in the past two months, with October seeing a 47.4 percent and 36.6 percent rise respectively in property supply compared to September, followed by a 35.1 percent and 23.9 percent fall in supply in November compared to October.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com comments: “Everyone knows by now that we have a property supply issue in this country, but these latest figures reveal just how severe that problem is as we head into the New Year. The total number of new property listings in November across the UK was just over 65,000 - that is nearly 20,000 less than in October, and the lowest level since we launched the Property Supply Index in May.

“The drop off is too dramatic to be simply attributed to seasonality factors alone. The Government...aren’t addressing the supply shortage, and if there are no homes to buy, these (Help To Buy) schemes are just window dressing. It is vital the housing market starts the New Year with vigour, because there are some potentially stormy seas ahead.”