Monday 10 September 2018 4:15 pm

Property supply sinks as hot summer distracts hopeful buyers

The number of houses being put up for sale tumbled for the third consecutive month in August, in a sign that the summer’s bumper hot weather has distracted buyers from the UK property market.

Newly-listed houses dropped below 62,000 last month, marking the lowest level since the start of 2018, according to online estate agents Housesimple.com.

The new research found that the drop in new supply “can be placed firmly at the feet of unseasonally hot weather, as homeowners chose barbecues and beaches over selling their properties".

While London suffered a 17.1 per cent decrease in listings in August compared with July, King's Lynn saw the sharpest decline, with a 36.4 per cent decrease.

Tows with largest fall in listings

1. King's Lynn -36.4 per cent

2. Rugby -31.7 per cent

3. Sale -26.7 per cent

4. Inverness -24.5 per cent

5. Falmouth -23.3 per cent

Sam Mitchell, the boss of of HouseSimple.com, said: “One of the hottest summers on record has inevitably had an impact on the property market. Although, properties are selling, Brits understandably took advantage of the fantastic weather, and it’s no surprise they prioritised spending time outside and taking a holiday over moving home.”

Mitchell added: “Saying that, we did see plenty of sales going through, and the hot summer provided keen sellers with an opportunity to steal a march on the competition and secure a sale while there were less properties on the market.

“Now we are entering one of the traditionally busy periods for the property market. We would expect to see a significant increase in new listings in September and October and sellers will face stiffer competition. But priced correctly, properties are selling despite the Brexit cloud looming overhead.”