New property listings declined in all regions of England except for London while sellers in Scotland and Wales also shied away from the market.
In the first two weeks of January, new listings in Scotland were down around 17 per cent year-on-year with the North East of England and the South West following closely behind.
The momentum of 2020 prevailed in London, however, with new property listings up around 10 per cent driven largely by apartment owners looking to sell up and upsize.
Buyer demand remained 13 per cent higher in the weeks between Boxing Day and 17 January than in the previous year. The number of new sales agreed was eight per cent up on last year.
With a decline in new homes for sale and existing stocks depleted asking prices have risen on average by 4.3 per cent, the highest since April 2017.
Wales has reported the highest growth in prices at 5.4 per cent with Liverpool leading the way at a city level with growth of 6.3 per cent.
Richard Donnell (pictured), director of research and insight at Zoopla, said: “The strength of the market in 2020 has eroded the available number of homes for sale and this will mean continued upward pressure on house prices in the short term.
“The most affordable parts of the UK are recording the highest rate of price growth for 10 years up to 5.4 per cent a year. We still expect house price growth to slow towards one per cent by the end of the year.
“The rush to beat the stamp duty deadline continues and sellers who agreed to buy a home in 2020 would reasonably expect to make the stamp duty saving.”
