London agent Chestertons has reported that the number of new listings it has on its books is down by a fifth on this time a year ago.

However, the supply drought is at odds with demand, it says.

Chestertons said that in March the number of buyers registering was 6% up on February, while the number of viewings rose 18.3%.

The number of offers made by buyers edged up 3.4%, but the number of fall-throughs nearly halved, suggesting that people are committed to deals once an offer is accepted.

Chestertons’ first quarter figures also compare favourably to this time last year, with the number of new buyers coming to the market increasing 36.5%, property viewings up 13.6%, offers up 7.6% and exchanges up 12.6%.

Chestertons’ managing director Guy Gittins said: “We have noticed a dramatic shift in buyer behaviour since the start of the year, with many more people registering with us to buy, but also going out to view properties and also making offers.

“However, as the original Brexit deadline got closer, we expected buyers to take a ‘wait and see’ approach and for the market to slow down temporarily in March.

“In the event, the opposite actually happened and buyers became increasingly active, which suggests that people either did not believe that Brexit would happen or have become so fatigued with the B-word that they are deciding to carry on regardless.

“Our concern has been that there are very few new properties coming on to the market to feed this demand, and our figures show that compared to this time last year, the number of new properties being marketed is down 21%.”

Yesterday, Zoopla reported that sales in London are 20% down on five years ago.