Over a quarter (27.1%) of UK towns and cities saw property supply more than double in January compared to December, according to research from HouseSimple.com.

The online estate agent said that the property market bounced back from the traditional Christmas slowdown, with the number of new properties listed across the UK in January almost double (93.3%) December’s figure.

Supply in the capital rose even more sharply – by 121% in January.

Lichfield calling

By far the biggest rise in listings was in Lichfield, where new properties on the market rose more than threefold (268%), while in Edinburgh and Hastings supply was up 173% and 169% respectively.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “We expected to see property supply rise in January, and it will be a relief that numbers have jumped because there were concerns that sellers, jaded by Brexit talk, might be slow to market in January. Although the numbers of new properties listed wasn’t through the roof, they were higher than November and only a little lower than October, so supply returned to pre-Christmas levels.

“We are now coming into peak time for property sales, the pre-spring and spring market. The black cloud of Article 50 looms overhead and no-one really knows if that will see sellers delay marketing their properties. But if the market’s response to the Brexit vote is anything to go by, the urge or need to move will mean it’s very much business as usual.”