The supply of new homes listed for sale has surpassed 1.5 million year to date, while sales agreed have exceeded 1m, according to the latest figures from TwentyEA.
The data shows that activity remains ahead of 2024, despite uncertainty in the run-up to the Autumn Budget on 26th November.
New listings were 3.3% higher at the end of October and SSTCs rose by 4.1%, with demand reaching its strongest levels since 2022 and a current demand-to-supply ratio of 72.4%.
TwentyEA said a 2.7% year-on-year dip in demand in October appears to be a temporary effect linked to unusually strong activity the previous year, when falling interest rates prompted buyers to accelerate transactions ahead of the 30th October Budget.
Detached and semi-detached homes have become increasingly popular, with the demand-to-supply ratio for detached properties rising by 4.6% compared with last year.
The average original instruction price has fallen by 0.8% (£3,700) over the past year. On a regional basis, instruction prices are rising in the North and Midlands but are static or declining in the South.
Inner London is the only region to record a fall of more than 3% year-on-year. The number of price reductions has exceeded 1 million so far this year, 14% higher than in 2024, with 38.7% of concluded listings having at least one reduction.
The largest increase has been in the £1m+ band, where reductions have risen by 3 percentage points. Price reductions are generally rising in London and the South and falling in northern regions.
Katy Billany, executive director of TwentyEA, said: “The data shows that both supply and demand remain resilient despite a dip in October and hopefully we’ll start to see demand increasing again once we have some clarity following the Autumn Budget.
“With more homes on the market, motivated sellers are adjusting their expectations and offering more competitive pricing, leading to increased levels of price reductions, now more than one million so far this year.
“At this point, all eyes are focussed on the Chancellor’s Budget, which obviously falls much later than usual, to see what policy changes may emerge.
“Any measures that boost affordability or encourage transactions will help sustain the positive momentum we’ve seen across most regions throughout 2025.”
