The lockdown period added 25.7 days to the amount of time a property stays on the market – delaying home sales by 20%, research from estate agent Get Agent shows.
It took an average of 136 days to sell a home during March and June, compared to the same months last year.
Colby Short, chief executive of GetAgent, said: “Undoubtedly we’re seeing the impact of the housing market freeze when it comes to transaction times.
“The almost complete stop of any transactions in March, and the resulting pent-up demand, has created huge pressure on the capacity of those whose job it is to progress sales to completion.
“But the market has proved remarkably resilient, and now we’re seeing efforts to streamline the process – for example with the Land Registry accepting e-signatures.
“Hopefully we’ll see some of these transaction times returning to normal again soon.”
The largest increase in delays for home sales was in Edinburgh, where it took 103 days between March and June, compared to 72 days over the same period last year.
Similarly there were big jumps in the time it took to sell in the EC London postcode, incorporating Shoreditch, City of London, Islington and Camden.
Homes in this region stayed on the market for 270 days on average, a 34% increase from the year before.
