March saw the number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books fall to 39 in March, from 44 in February, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA Propertymark).
This is the lowest amount recorded for March, since records began 16 years ago in September 2002.
Year on year, supply is down 28% as agents had 54 properties available to market last March.
The number of house buyers registered per member branch fell in March as well. Estate agents had an average of 397 prospective buyers on their books last month, compared to 425 in February
In March last year, there were 417 prospective buyers registered per branch, meaning demand has fallen by 5% year-on-year.
The proportion of sales which were agreed for first-time buyers rose to 25%, up from 22% in February.
Meanwhile, the average number of sales agreed decreased in March, to 10 per branch. In February, 11 sales were agreed per branch, the highest number recorded since September 2007
In March, one in every 20 properties sold for more than the original asking price. This figure has continued to rise since the low of 12% seen in November 2016.
A year on since the higher rates of stamp duty for additional properties was introduced, 64% of agents have seen demand for properties from buy-to-let investors decrease.
37% have seen house prices increase as a direct result of the stamp duty reforms.
Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “There are currently 10 house-hunters chasing each available property, and with supply at the lowest level for March since records began, building more homes to satisfy demand needs to be a priority.
“In line with this, while sales to first-time buyers rose slightly in March, they’re still much lower than the levels seen in the last three months of 2016 which is cause for concern. The upcoming general election is a good opportunity for each party to outline their plans for tackling the housing crisis – we hope to see it prioritised so we can make the market a better place once and for all.”
