The UK’s housing inventory has hit an all-time low, according to Home.co.uk’s latest report.
The number of properties for sale in the UK has plummeted 38 per cent since December 2007, Home.co.uk reveals, taking the available housing supply to the lowest levels in history.
With buyer demand increasing, the low supply is driving up prices.
In London, where the shortage and demand are most severe, prices have bucked the seasonal slowdown trend, with values leaping 0.8 per cent in the last month alone.
Across England and Wales, prices slipped by only 0.1 per cent, although prices in the North East of England fell 0.7 per cent over the last year and are down 2.2 per cent in Scotland.
On an annual level, though, average prices in England and Wales have shown a post-crisis record rise of 6.1 per cent.
Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk comments: "With such a low volume of properties for sale, there are concerns about how the market will cope with the impending upturn in buyer interest in early 2014.
"On the demand side, individuals and investors have access to relatively cheap credit and yet, due to the sheer lack of choice, the number of transactions that can actually be realised is very much restricted. Growing demand and diminishing supply will no doubt place further pressure on prices in the coming months, especially in London and the South East."
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