Estate agents are waiting longer than ever to receive their commission, with the average home sale now taking more than seven months to progress from listing to completion, according to new analysis from Rightmove.
The property portal found that it now takes an average of 216 days to complete a move across Great Britain, comprising 62 days to secure a buyer and a further 154 days between agreeing a sale and completion – the longest total at this point in the year since its records began.
The regional picture varies considerably. London remains the slowest market, where agreed sales take an average of 174 days to complete, compared with 141 days in the North East. Scotland is the fastest part of Great Britain at 98 days, largely due to its different legal process and greater use of upfront information.
Flats continue to be the slowest property type to complete, taking an average of 169 days, while terraced and semi-detached homes complete in around 149 days.
Rightmove said completion times have increased by 36 days since 2019 despite advances in technology, with high conveyancing workloads, lengthy chains, leasehold complexities and manual processes continuing to slow transactions.
For estate agents, longer completion periods mean sales remain tied up for months after being agreed, increasing the risk of chains collapsing and delaying fee income. Previous Rightmove research found that almost a quarter of agreed sales initially fall through, while around 6% fail altogether and do not return to the market within a year.
The portal estimates there is currently £205bn worth of residential property for sale on its platform that, once sold, must still navigate the completion process before transactions are finalised.
Rightmove said it supports the government’s proposed home-moving reforms, including earlier information sharing and greater digitisation of conveyancing, arguing that faster and more transparent transactions would reduce fall-throughs, improve certainty for buyers and sellers, and help agents convert agreed sales into completed deals more quickly.
Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove’s CEO, said: “A healthy housing market depends on people being able to move home easily and with certainty. However, the entire home-moving process currently takes more than seven months on average, making this the longest summer wait on record.
“An average 154 day wait to complete the transaction process itself is simply far too long. Rightmove data shows that in some parts of the country the delays are even more significant. Housing mobility is closely linked to economic growth. We believe greater digitisation of moving journey processes, stronger information standards and transparency to all stakeholders is key.”
Brad Fordham, head of mortgage distribution & underwriting at NatWest Group, said the Rightmove figures released today show more needs to be done to reduce the time it takes people to move house in the UK.
He commented: “Delays within the conveyancing journey cause emotional distress and real financial costs for our customers. We believe that widespread adoption of digital technology is the fastest way the industry can accelerate the home ownership journey. Our partnership with Rightmove allows prospective homeowners to get a mortgage in principle decision, so they can view properties confident they can afford them.”
Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, added: “Despite continued intent and activity in the market, reforming the home-buying and selling process must remain a priority for our new Housing Minister and the Government. We have seen positive signs, but maintaining momentum will be essential to delivering a process that provides greater certainty for buyers and sellers and supports a more fluid housing market.
“Once a sale has been agreed, there are a number of legal and administrative stages before completion, involving conveyancers, mortgage lenders and local authorities. Completion times naturally vary across the country because every transaction has its own circumstances, including factors such as local authority search turnaround times, the complexity of individual transactions and the length of property chains. Throughout that process, experienced estate agents have an important role to play in maintaining clear communication between buyers and sellers.”
Time to sell and move home
| Area | Time to find a buyer (days) | Time to complete the purchase (days) | Total time to move home on average (days) |
| London | 70 | 174 | 244 |
| East of England | 66 | 171 | 237 |
| South East | 67 | 170 | 237 |
| South West | 69 | 164 | 233 |
| Wales | 66 | 155 | 221 |
| Great Britain | 62 | 154 | 216 |
| West Midlands | 62 | 153 | 215 |
| North West | 57 | 152 | 209 |
| East Midlands | 68 | 150 | 218 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 62 | 145 | 207 |
| North East | 53 | 141 | 194 |
| Scotland | 29 | 98 | 127 |
Local authorities where it takes longest to complete a home move
| Local authority | Time to complete the legal transaction process (days) |
| Slough | 229 |
| Brentwood | 209 |
| Colchester | 205 |
| Epping Forest | 204 |
| Redbridge | 201 |
| Waverley | 201 |
| Maldon | 200 |
| Rochford | 199 |
| Harrow | 198 |
| Southampton | 197 |
Local authorities where it is quickest to complete a home move
| Local authority | Time to complete the legal transaction process (days) |
| Clackmannanshire | 76 |
| Angus | 77 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 77 |
| Moray | 85 |
| City of Edinburgh | 86 |
| Fife | 86 |
| West Lothian | 87 |
| East Lothian | 88 |
| Stirling | 88 |
| Scottish Borders | 89 |
Local authorities where it is quickest to complete a home move outside of Scotland
| Local authority | Time to complete the legal transaction process (days) |
| North East Derbyshire | 120 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 122 |
| Chesterfield | 124 |
| Hyndburn | 126 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 126 |
| Hartlepool | 127 |
| Wrexham | 128 |
| Ashfield | 129 |
| County Durham | 130 |
| Lancaster | 130 |
Source: Rightmove.
Comments (4)
Many agents put Sold and Not STC
I cannot think of one single agent in Richmond and Twickenham and Kew who puts a STC marker on a board
As a house developer as soon as I get an offer agreed we put sold on
Many people put their house on the market speculatively and have the mentality that they are testing the market and are unsure that they will find a suitable home to move to and that they may eventually not move
We see that every week on our sites
Sometime that vendor ends up selling and moving – sometimes not
On that basis there is no way they and many like them will instruct a solicitor and incur costs when they know they may not move
Some people put their house on the market hopefully hoping to achieve a higher than market price with the mentality that if they do not get a certain figure they will just stay where they and that they may eventually not move
Couple a few doors from to me put their house on earlier this year – 4 weeks later decided not to sell
Sometime that vendor ends up selling and moving – sometimes not
On that basis there is no way they and many like them will instruct a solicitor and incur costs when they know they may not move
Some people put their house on the market to secure a specific property that has just come to the market and know that if they do not get an offer they will not bother to sell
Again there is no way he and many that will instruct a solicitor and incur costs when they know they may not move
Many property sellers believe that once their offer has been accepted, their property is “sold”. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. That’s why estate agents don’t simply mark a property as “Sold” – they put “Sold Subject to Contract” on their boards.
If sellers want to give their transaction the best chance of exchanging contracts and completing quickly and smoothly, they should instruct their conveyancer before a buyer has even been found. Doing so allows the conveyancer to carry out identity checks, prepare the contract pack, and gather the necessary paperwork in advance, saving valuable time once a sale is agreed.
Think of it this way: if your flight is at 10.00 am tomorrow, you wouldn’t normally wait until 6.00 am to start packing your suitcase. You pack the day before. Selling a property should be no different, the more preparation you do in advance, the sooner you’re ready to go.
“Estate agents face longest wait on record to get paid” Probably not a headline that will pull at the heartstrings of members of the home selling public.
What a terribly naive statement, most vendor’s will realise that it means they are waiting longer and longer to move house, selling today means not moving until March 2027!!!
With no certainty of an exchange of contracts until very late in on it is exacerbating what is already the most stressful thing most people do.
Why think about that when a cheap shot is easier though I guess.