The number of properties on agents’ books hit a 12-month low in April as General Election uncertainty began to hit.

NAEA Propertymark’s latest Housing Market Report showed there were 36 properties per member branch last month, down from 39 in March and the lowest level seen since April last year when agents had just 35 properties to market.

Demand also continued to decline, NAEA Propertymark says, with the number of house hunters falling from 397 in March to 381 per branch in April. The figure was 425 at the start of the year.

Meanwhile, the number of sales agreed per branch fell from ten in March to eight in April and the proportion of sales made to first-time buyers was flat at 25%.

The rate of sales agreed above asking price rose from 5% to 7% in April, while the number of properties which were sold for less than the asking price dropped three percentage points to 72%.

Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “All of the main political parties have outlined significant housing promises in their manifestos and we’d hope to see these policies rolled out in the new Government’s first six to 12 months in Parliament.

“Buyers and sellers alike are recognising this and adopting a ‘wait and see’ strategy to decipher how or if the value of their existing or future homes will be affected.

“However, despite the fact that increasing the housing stock is playing a part in the election campaigning, more often than not we find these pledges are unachievable and turn out to be empty promises.

“It’s therefore important that the market doesn’t totally stall as this could trigger an unintended domino effect, which we could still feel years later before supply increases.

“A business as usual approach will ensure house-hunters are met with a healthy supply of properties to view, and sellers get a fair price and a good buyer.”