UK housing supply by region: a postcode-level breakdown

Property supply in the UK is not a single number. It shifts street by street, postcode by postcode, and the gap between a tight market and a well-supplied one can be the difference between a bidding war and a negotiated deal.

Home tracks 1,249,531 live UK listings across sale and rental combined, spanning 124 postcode areas. Of those, around 45,623 are new-build stock. The regional picture below draws on that dataset, refreshed monthly.

Why supply varies so sharply

Housing stock accumulates unevenly because of planning decisions made decades ago, density restrictions, agricultural land designations, and the pace at which builders have responded to demand. Add in the tendency for owners in rising markets to sit tight, and certain postcodes end up structurally undersupplied for years at a time.

The practical result: two buyers with identical budgets, looking for similar properties, can have completely different experiences depending on where they are searching.

The broad regional pattern (as at early 2026)

Based on Home's live listing data, supply is generally tightest across:

• Parts of south-east England outside London, where demand from London overspill has been sustained. A 3-bed house in Fringford, Oxfordshire, listed at £350,000, is the kind of village stock that gets snapped up fast in this belt.
• Desirable coastal and rural areas in south-west England, where second-home purchasing and strong local demand combine
• Commuter belt postcodes within roughly 60 minutes of major northern cities

Supply tends to be more plentiful in:

• Parts of the north-east and Yorkshire, where new-build programmes have added volume
• Some outer London postcodes, where developers have delivered more consistently
• Areas with higher turnover due to student and rental populations

These are patterns visible in the data, not universal rules. Supply can be tight in one postcode and comfortable in the next.

What the numbers can and cannot tell you

Stock levels measure how many homes are listed at a given moment. They do not tell you whether those homes are priced correctly or whether sellers are motivated. A high stock figure can mean a buyer-friendly market, or it can mean a market where sellers are misjudging price and homes are sitting unsold.

Time on market is a sharper indicator of real conditions. When stock is high and homes are selling quickly, demand is absorbing supply efficiently. When stock is high and time on market is long, homes are not clearing and buyers have more room to negotiate. We break down how long properties take to sell, by postcode, and why stock levels matter more than price when reading a market.

Home tracks both figures by postcode. You can explore them for any area you are considering at house price data.

Stock levels measure how many homes are listed at a given moment.

How to use this data when buying or selling

If you are buying: check the supply trend for your target area before making an offer. A rising stock count over two or three months suggests a market softening, which typically gives you more time and more bargaining power.

If you are selling: a falling stock count in your postcode area is a reasonable indicator that competition among buyers is tightening. Pricing accurately from the start matters most when supply is already low, because demand will absorb your home quickly if you get it right.

For a wider view of where supply is shifting nationally, see the Home Property Index. Browse current listings across all regions at homes for sale.

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Home's supply data covers 124 postcode areas based on 1,249,531 live listings updated monthly. Figures reflect listed stock, not completed transactions. Regional patterns described above are general observations from the data and may not apply to individual streets or postcodes.

Further reading: the ONS UK House Price Index.