Camden sees bigger than usual seasonal fall in number of houses for sale
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The number of homes for sale in Camden plummeted in the month before Christmas, prompting fears of a longer term dip in financial confidence.
There were 56 per cent fewer properties put on the market in the borough in December 2016 than in the previous month, according to online estate agent HouseSimple.com.
While there is typically a pre-Christmas dip in properties coming on the market, December’s figures show a steeper than usual decline across London, where new supply fell 54 per cent, raising fears of a dip in financial confidence for 2017.
Across the UK almost every town and city experienced a drop off in new property listings in December with only two – Salford and Telford – seeing the number of homes on the market rise.
Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “The run-up to Christmas is chaotic, so most people wait until January to put their house on the market - as a result, a slowdown in new listings is pretty typical.
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“But the December just gone was particularly slow and the fear is that this steep drop-off could hail the start of a more tentative market as inflation starts to rise and people feel less confident financially. How the job market and economy perform will be critical for the property market in the months ahead.”
However, local estate agents say it’s too early to predict whether or not the statistics have any implications for the property market in 2017.
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James Wilkinson of Winkworth in Highgate said: “There’s nothing unusual about the figures, December is one of the quietest months of the year and this year’s figures were more or less consistent with last year.
“It’s too early to tell if Brexit is having an effect on property in Highgate. The referendum came towards the end of our usual busy period.
“February is really when the market’s in full flow so if it’s not by then, we’ll know that there’s been an impact.”
