It currently takes 162 days to sell a property in England and Wales from when it is first listed until completion of the sale, a new piece of research has found.

An analysis of all estate agent property sales across postcodes and not only how long they take to sell as a whole, but how this differs between first listed to under offer, and under offer to completion from comparison site GetAgent shows it takes 109 days to find a buyer and accept an offer, and just 53 days for the property to go from under offer to completed.

The quickest area to currently sell a home is the M23 postcode in Manchester at 116 days, taking 91 days to find and accept and offer and 25 days to complete on the sale. In terms of the overall area, Nuneaton and Bedworth is home to the quickest home sales and present with

an average selling time of 125 days.
Redditch, Coventry, Charnwood, Torfaen, Sedgemoor, Rugby, Mansfield, Harborough and Kingston upon Hull are also some of the quickest home selling locations at 134 days or less.

In London, Barking and Dagenham is the quickest borough when selling a property at 156, with Bexley, Hammersmith and Fulham and Havering joint second at 173 days.

When it comes to finding that initial buyer, the quickest postcode area is YO62 in North Yorkshire, taking just 54 days. However, with the completion of the sale dragging on for an average of 84 days, it takes 138 days in total to sell in the area.

Hyndburn, North East Lincolnshire, Pendle and South Tyneside are the quickest regions to find a home buyer at between 69 and 79 days.

The London borough of Kensington is home to the quickest time when listing a property for sale to accepting an offer at just 95 days, closely followed by Hammersmith and Fulham at 99 days.

Looking at the final stages of a sale, BS3 in Bristol is where it takes just 16 days on average to get a sale over the line while Redditch is the quickest area as a whole with an average time of just 24 days, along with Rugby and closely followed by Kettering. Waltham Forest is the quickest London borough at an average of 37 days.

‘Traditionally the back end of a sale is the most nail biting and can also be the most protracted as the legal requirements can drag on and on between a number of parties. However, with current market conditions plagued by uncertainty, it’s interesting to see that the time taking to sell is actually taking the longest at the buyer finding stage,’ said Colby Short, chief executive officer of GetAgent.

‘It’s no surprise that the quickest areas for the entire selling process are located outside of London and the South East as these regions have suffered less at the hands of Brexit uncertainty and a more business as usual attitude has seen the markets remain in good health,’ he pointed out.

‘What’s interesting about this research is the huge differences between agents when it comes to finding a buyer and completing on a sale. Many agents will use selling time as a marketing tool, but this goes to show that while some may find a buyer quickly, it doesn’t mean they will complete your sale with the same speed. Our advice is to always dig down and find out exactly what they mean by selling, as finding a buyer and accepting an offer is vital when selling, but it does not mean that agent has sold a house,’ he added.