Level of new homes reaching the market almost halves

Research from estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, has shown that the level of new housing stock entering the property market for sale has almost halved when compared to the closing stages of 2022, although in some major cities, this reduction is as high as 84%. 

Barrows and Forrester analysed the level of new for sale stock being listed online across Britain since the start of the year and how this compared to November of last year.

The research shows that some 42,481 properties have come to market so far in 2023. A considerable reduction of -46% when compared to the closing stages of 2022.

However, in some areas of Britain, the declining level of new property stock is far more pronounced. Nowhere more so than in Scotland, where it has fallen by -70%, with the city of Edinburgh seeing an -84% decline. 

In the North West, the property pipeline has seen a -57% reduction, climbing to -64% in Liverpool specifically. 

London has also seen new stock reaching the market drop by -57%, followed by the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber (-54%). 

The East of England is home to the smallest reduction, albeit the level of new homes reaching the market for sale has still dropped by -32% when compared to the end of 2022. 

At city level, it’s Bradford (-63%) and Glasgow (-61%) that have seen some of the largest reductions in new for sale stock, with Newcastle seeing the smallest reduction at -20%. 

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“As interest rates have continued to climb, the increasing cost of borrowing has dampened the enthusiasm of the nation’s homebuyers and they can no longer afford to match the high asking prices seen during the pandemic market boom. 

However, while the back end of 2022 brought a heightened level of market turbulence, we’re now seeing a far more settled picture and this is expected to continue as the year progresses. 

As a result, many sellers who may have otherwise entered the fray in the new year are opting to sit tight for the time being and this has caused the level of new stock reaching the market to plummet.”