Average Time to Sell a Property in Each Region

Summary:

• May 2016 showed the fastest ever recorded national average time to sell a property. (1)
• It takes almost twice as long to rent out a property in London than it does to sell one. (2) and (3)
• Properties in the South East are sold within 4 weeks on average, yet properties in the North East take an average of 10 weeks. (4)

According to Rightmove, it only took 57 days on average to sell a house in the UK in May 2016. (1) This was the fastest ever recorded time to sell since 2010, when Rightmove first started recording the trend. The term “time to sell” is “an average for all properties and the timescale is from when a property is first marketed on Rightmove to when the estate agent marks it as ‘sold subject to contract.’” (1)

May 2015 had an average time to sell of 65 days, indicating a dramatic decrease to this year’s record low. (1) In fact, Rightmove noted that now, “Some prospective buyers are putting in offers within hours or days.” (1) An article published by the Financial Times supported this in saying “buyers are snapping up homes in record time.” (5)

The year began with quite a slow start, with an average of 79 days in January 2016. In February, the average time on the market was 68 days, then 62 days in March and 60 days in April. (1) Buyers have been eager despite Brexit jitters and high prices. On the topic, the BBC explained, “uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote failed to hit house buying in the UK, figures suggest, with a slight rise in transactions in August…A total of 109,630 properties were bought in the UK during the month, a very slight rise on a year earlier, HM Revenue and Customs data shows.” (6)

Interestingly, according to data collected in November 2016 by Home, the average time it took to rent a property in London was 117 days (2). This is almost double the average time to sell in London, which, during a similar time of the year, was 56 days. (3)

The Telegraph estimates it takes an average of 6 weeks to sell a home across the country, which is slightly less than Rightmove suggests. However, the Telegraph shows that this figure varies dramatically across the regions. Properties in the South East have an average of 4 weeks on the market before being sold, whereas the North East has an average time to sell of 10 weeks. Below is a table with estimated “time to sell” durations across the country:

(Source: The Telegraph: 4)

Written by Jenna Kamal

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Sources

1. http://plc.rightmove.co.uk/~/media/Files/R/Rightmove/house-price-index/house-price-index-june-2016.pdf
2. http://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/london/current_rents?location=london
3. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Rightmove-House-Price-Index-14-November-London-FINAL.pdf
4. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/house-prices/10946361/How-long-to-sell-your-house-and-what-discount-to-accept-on-asking-price.html
5. https://www.ft.com/content/7b014766-34aa-11e6-ad39-3fee5ffe5b5b
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37427737
7. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Rightmove-House-Price-Index-November-FINAL.pdf