Big fall in number of houses for sale in Shropshire towns

A study of the number of properties newly released onto the market via Rightmove by online estate agents HouseSimple.com found that the number available in Shrewsbury fell by 14.1 per cent between October and November, following a succession of small rises in previous months.

In Telford, the number of available properties fell by 13.7 per cent.

The figures add to the pressure on the local housing market, which has seen property prices rocketing in recent years as a result of supply failing to keep up with demand. Shropshire's data mirrors the national picture, which has seen increasing pressure on the housing market.

"Everyone knows by now that we have a property supply issue in this country, but these latest figures reveal just how severe that problem is as we head into the New Year," said HouseSimple chief executive Adam Gosling.

"The total number of new property listings in November across the UK was just over 65,000 – that is nearly 20,000 less than in October, and the lowest level since we launched the Property Supply Index in May."

He added: "Historically, as we get closer to Christmas, the property market does start to slow down, so a fall in property supply levels is not unexpected.

"However, the drop off is too dramatic to be simply attributed to seasonality factors alone."

Bath was the worst-hit town, with the number of available properties dropping by 42.6 per cent during the period, with Worcester and Solihull similarly affected by the drop-off in availability.

Chichester and Salford were the only towns in the UK to see an increase in new property listings.

"The Government has implemented several schemes to help people get onto the property market, the latest of which being the Help to Buy ISA," Mr Gosling said.

"However, they aren't addressing the supply shortage, and if there are no homes to buy, these schemes are just window dressing."