Research from Midlands lettings agency Barrows and Forrester shows the volume of homes entering the market for sale has almost halved when compared to just late last year. 

The agency 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. The research shows that some 42,481 properties have come to market so far in 2023 – a considerable reduction of 46 per cent when compared to the closing stages of 2022.

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

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

London has also seen new stock reaching the market drop by 57 per cent, followed by the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber falling 54 per cent. 

At city level, it’s Bradford (down 63 peer cent) and Glasgow (down 61 per cent) that have seen some of the largest reductions in  stock, along with Edinburgh on 84 per cent. Newcastle has seen the smallest reduction at 20 per cent. 

Agency managing director James Forrester says: “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.”