New data shows that the number of properties withdrawn from the market declined over 25% in the last two months of last year, and that in November and December, sales fell by over 50% compared with the same period in 2017.

Software supplier Reapit said it meant that more unsold properties were kept on the market at the end of 2018 than at the end of 2017.

Reapit CEO Gary Barker said that sellers might have been keeping their properties up for sale while waiting to see what happens with Brexit.

Barker said: “While Brexit uncertainty remains, we would anticipate a continued slowdown in the number of homes listed and sold.

“For those properties already on the market, sellers will likely hold their listings, waiting to see what happens over the next two weeks.”

The Reapit data found that sales of properties dropped by over half in November and December, and that listings in both months were both down on the same period the year previously.

However, listings in December were 5% higher than November. Barker suggested that this increase could have been due to landlords looking to offload properties before more regulations kick in.

The Reapit data shows that overall there was a 12% increase in the number of properties being withdrawn from sale last year, despite the declines in the last two months.

We  asked Reapit to clarify whether its withdrawals data applies to properties being withdrawn from the whole sales market, or whether it applies only to properties being withdrawn from a Reapit user.

A spokesperson told us: “The data is taken from Reapit’s customer database, which is made up of a large majority of the UK’s estate agents. It does not include every single agent in the market, but gives a good indication around seller sentiment and confidence thanks to its large reach.

“The data hasn’t been used to depict stock levels in the market, but what it does show is that, whether people withdraw and relist, or withdraw in total, less people withdrew properties year on year, which shows that they are keeping steady for longer.

“Certainly, there are many reasons which would contribute to this, but in Reapit’s view, this is down to Brexit uncertainty.”