New research reveals the vastly different timescale it can take to sell a home in England and Wales with Rotherham taking the longest and the fastest sellers in Rainham.
Overall, the time on the market ranges from just 87 days in Rainham to 279 days in Rotherham, according to the research from Quick Move Now. The slowest markets are in locations in London and the North East of England.
Knightsbridge and Sunderland are the next slowest markets with average time on the market of 277 days, followed by Mayfair at 272, North Shields and Marylebone both at 268, Soho at 266, Charing Cross at 265, South Shields at 264 and the Strand at 262.
In contrast, the quickest selling markets are more spread out. After Rotherham the next fastest number of days on the market is in Bristol at 88 days, followed by Strood at 89 days, Swindon at 90, Northampton at 93, Waterlooville, Coventry and Basingstoke all at 94 days, Rochester at 96 and Stevenage at 97.
‘As we can see from the data, the property market varies hugely throughout England and Wales from an average time on market of 87 days in Rainham, right up to an average of 279 days, more than nine months, in Rotherham,’ said Quick Move Now’s managing director Danny Luke.
He explained that the figures do not take into account conveyancing time, which takes an average of eight to 12 weeks, so in reality, it takes home owners in Rotherham, on average, more than a year to sell their property.
He added that more than one in five of sales are then likely to fall through before successful completion, meaning the home owner will be required to start the whole process all over again.
‘When it comes to the best places to sell a property, with three of the top spots, Kent continues to perform well. The M4 corridor is also one to watch, with both Bristol and Swindon featuring in the top 10,’ Luke pointed out.
Having a property that takes a long time to sell is undoubtedly frustrating, but it seems inconvenience is not the only negative impact home owners face. According to recent research by the HomeOwners Alliance, which questioned 5,000 estate agents, homes that sell in the first 12 days are most likely to achieve their maximum asking price.
The same research suggested that after four weeks on the market, the price achieved drops to around 98% of the original asking price. This drops further to 96% after eight weeks, and below 94% after three months on the market.
In monetary terms, if a property remains on the market for three months, the average home owners could expect to receive an average of £13,603 below their asking price, and home owners in London can expect this figure to rise to more than £30,000 less that their asking price.
