Properties taking longer to sell but how long are vendors really waiting?

Sellers are waiting between 114 and 247 days on average to sell their home, depending on what research you believe.

Two separate reports have tried to put a figure on the average time it takes to “sell” a property.

Analysis of listings data on Home.co.uk across 66 major UK cities by Post Office Money and the Centre for Economics and Business Research found it takes 114 days to sell on average.

The research is based on different “selling” criteria: the time taken from when a property is advertised for sale and until it is listed as under offer; or sold subject to contract (SSTC); or sold or removed.

This is up from the 102 days recorded last year.

The data is based on activity in the 90 days up to the end of September.

Sellers in Oxford are facing the longest wait, with an average selling time of 152 days, followed by 151 in Aberdeen.

Edinburgh and Glasgow had the fastest rates of sale at 45 and 47 days respectively.

This research has its limits as there is no guarantee that a removed property or one listed as SSTC has actually sold.

Slowest rate of sale

Rank

City

Avg. time to sell (Sept 2018)

1

Oxford

152

2

Aberdeen

151

3

Middlesbrough

149

4

Slough

148

5

Blackpool

146

6

London

138

7

Sunderland

130

8

Lincoln

127

9

Crawley

123

10

Newcastle

121

Fastest rate of sale

Rank

City

Avg. time to sell (Sept 2018)

1

Glasgow

45

2

Edinburgh

47

3

Dundee

72

4

Coventry

74

5

Stoke

77

6

Bristol

80

7

Mansfield

80

8

Northampton

80

9

Manchester

84

10

Swindon

84

Source: Post Office Money

In contrast, agency comparison website GetAgent has looked at data from the major portals and cross-referenced with the Land Registry sold data for the whole of 2019 and claims the average figure is 247 days.

It ranks the City of London as the slowest market, taking 409 days to sell, followed by 402 days in Islington.

Eden in Cumbria is the slowest market outside of the London bubble where homes are also taking more than 400 days to sell.

Across London as a whole, it’s taking even longer to sell a home with an average time of 286 days.

However, the research does not appear to take account of the time lag between the sale and registration at the Land Registry.

 

Average time to sell based on the first listing online to the point the property is marked sold by the Land Registry.
Great Britain – All
Location
Average Time To Sell (days)
City of London
409
Islington
402
Eden
401
Copeland
394
Ceredigion
392
Pembrokeshire
350
Bournemouth
324
East Devon
319
Merthyr Tydfil
316
Carmarthenshire
315
Barnet
313
Lambeth
307
Richmond upon Thames
305
Kensington and Chelsea
305
Tower Hamlets
301
Enfield
299
Gravesham
296
Hammersmith and Fulham
296
Epping Forest
295
Kingston upon Thames
293
Great Britain
247

Source: GetAgent

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