Total numbers of homes available to agents for sale are down almost half on levels five years ago, new figures show.

There were 114,466 residential properties on agents’ books in May, down from 210,934 in 2017, according to research by data firm TwentyEA.

Demand continues to outstrip supply in the housing market, with agents forced to compete for a dwindling number of potential sale properties.

Little prospect of uplift

The latest RICS Residential Market Survey, published last month, reported a weak supply situation and made a gloomy prediction about the future situation. It said April’s figures represented “the weakest reading since December 2021, and suggests there is little prospect of a meaningful uplift in the flow of supply coming onto the market in the immediate future”.

A net balance of 10% of agents reported increasing enquiries from buyers, but the number of new properties being listed for sale saw a net balance of minus 1% suggesting supply was falling rather than rising, the survey found

Respondents reported an average of just 38 properties for sale per branch, which RICS said was ‘extremely low’. Agreed sales were flat having risen in each of the past two months, returning a net balance of -2% during April.

All of this was having a predictable upward pressure on house prices with 80% of respondents reporting rising prices, up from 74% during March.

In response to the current market conditions, TwentyEA has developed a new service called ‘Spotlight’, which analyses agents’ performance in their local area across a range of metrics.

Spotlight measures the average sale price they achieve compared with the asking price; the average time it takes them to sell a property; and how their performance compares to that of their closest competitors.

RICS Residential Market Surveys