The number of new listings per agent on Zoopla in London is at a four-year low, the portal has revealed.

Analysis by the property website claimed that this and an increase in sales being agreed in the capital meant fewer London postcodes are now experiencing declines in property values.

The portal’s UK Cities House Price Index for October found that 23% of London postcodes registered negative house price growth over the month.

This is the lowest proportion of London markets experiencing monthly price falls since May 2017.

Average prices have increased by 1% over the past year, Zoopla said, which is the highest rate of growth for two years.

It also found the gap between asking and sold prices had dropped from 20% to 5% since 2016 in London, suggesting agents and sellers are being more realistic.

The research found that annual price growth among the UK’s 20 largest cities was below 5% for the first time since November 2012.

Average prices were up 2.9% annually, hitting as high as 4.7% in Leicester and declining 5.9% in Aberdeen.

The figures are much more bullish than other indices.

The October Land Registry House Price Index had annual growth at 1.3%.

Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla, said this could be down to different methodologies.

For example, Zoopla has a strong weighting toward mortgage valuations.

Donnell said: “After a three-year repricing process accompanied by a sizeable decline in housing sales, the London housing market is finally showing signs of life.

“The shift in momentum is clear, resulting from a lack of supply, increased sales and more realistic pricing, which bode well for higher sales activity in 2020, rather than a pick-up in house price growth.

“While the London housing market has been in the doldrums, market conditions in regional cities have been stronger over the last two years with demand supported by employment growth and attractive housing affordability.

“The rate of growth is slowing, and all cities are registering annual growth of less than 5%.

“The announcement of the General Election has brought forward the usual seasonal slowdown, but the last few weeks of the year pre-Christmas tend to be much quieter than after Boxing Day, when consumer interest in housing springs back to life.”