Demand from homebuyers in the UK continued to fall in November and is now down by more than a fifth year-over-year, fresh figures show.

haart’s latest National Housing Market Monitor shows new buyer demand for homes fell by 6.3% in November, and continues to be down significantly on the year, by 21.3% annually, placing downward pressure on the volume of homes coming onto the market.

According to haart, the number of residential properties that came onto the market in November fell by 5.5% on the month and by 8.4% compared with the corresponding period last year. The fall in housing stock means that the number of buyers chasing each property has increased marginally, as there are now nine purchasers for every new property on the market across England and Wales.

The low supply of homes on the market helped to push up property prices across England and Wales in November by 0.5% on the month, however they are down by 1.7% on the year. The average house price now sits at £228,635. 

The average purchase price for first-time-buyers dropped last month by 2.8%, and is down by 5.9% annually. This comes as the rate at which first-time-buyers entered the market fell by 6% on the month and by a massive 30.9% on the year.

Despite a drop in the average purchase price, the amount first-time-buyers are paying for a deposit has risen by 1.6% on the month and by 1.1% on the year.

The average property price in London rose again last month, by 6.2%, pushing up annual growth to 9.4%.

However, price increases in London came as demand for properties fell on the month by 6.7%, and was down 38.9% on the year.

At the same time, the number of properties for sale decreased by 7.9% on the month, and a huge 28.7% on the year, which largely explains why sale transactions have fallen by almost a quarter over the past 12 months.