The latest Property Supply Index from online estate agents HouseSimple.com showed that supply across the UK increased by 7% in May, after falling by 4% in April.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “Political and economic uncertainty surrounding a general election can often see sellers hold off marketing until after the result is known.

“However, the 7% rise in May suggests many sellers aren’t waiting and marketed their properties last month to try to secure an offer before the election result.”

Almost 80% of towns and cities saw an increase in new property listings in May, compared with the previous month, while property listings were up 5.2% in London.

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The biggest increases were observed in Barnsley (74.6%), Wolverhampton (52.1%) and Canterbury (51.9%); while the biggest falls were in Oldham (-43.7%), Blackburn (-26%) and Northampton (-25.2%).

Alex added: “The spring period – traditionally a buoyant time for the property market – has been knocked off kilter by Article 50 being invoked and the PM calling a general election.

“As a result, we could see a late-spring bounce after the election result, with a stampede of sellers putting their properties on to the market before the summer holidays.

“It doesn’t give home sellers a lot of time to secure a sale and the savvy and committed seller, willing to negotiate on price, could well have seen an opportunity to beat this stampede and steal a march on their competition.”