This year’s property market is already offering London home hunters more properties to choose from as a new report highlights a significant increase in the number of ‘fresh-to-the-market’ homes being listed across London.

The research by Rightmove shows a 13 per cent increase in the number of newly-marketed properties being listed for sale in the capital, since this time last year.

According to Rightmove’s director and housing market analyst Miles Shipside, this relative surge in available stock is already creating fiercer competition among sellers and could mean lower prices for buyers, particularly in the most affordable parts of the capital.

Interactive map: the average cost of buying in every London borough
Source: Rightmove, January 2016

In recent years, a shortage of homes coming to the market, coupled with growing demand, has been a key contributing factor in driving up prices.

With average asking prices in London now reaching £490,649, it is no surprise that growth in the outer edges of the capital is now outstripping central London.

South-east London in particular continues to record high levels of demand thanks to improved transport links and comparatively affordable house prices.

“Buyers search for affordability and value continues, and while not as convenient for many, the trade-off between commuting and price continues to exert upwards price pressure further out. The annual rate of increase in Outer London is now 11.3 per cent, over twice that of Inner London,” says Shipside.