This Is How Long It Took To Sell In 2019

What were the best and worst performing areas in the UK to sell your home in 2019? GetAgent.co.uk, an estate agent comparison website, gathered and analysed data to find just this.

How was the data gathered?

The data was collected from major sources and then cross referenced with the Land Registry using proprietary algorithms. This enabled them to create a record of what is selling and where, the price properties are selling for, and how long they are taking to sell.

What were the annual averages?

In the UK, the average time to sell a home from listing it on the open market to completion in 2019 was 256 days. In London, the average was higher at 295 days.

Throughout the year, this average increased. Q1 of 2019 had an average of 250 days, but by Q4 it increased to 271 days which is 8.5% longer. Between Q3 and Q4, we saw an increase of 3.3%.

Which areas were slowest?

The slowest market in the UK in 2019 was Eden, where sales took over a year on average to reach completion, a total of 393 days.

Westminster, London, took the second longest to complete on homes at 390 days.

In Wales, Ceredigion performed the worst where sales took 388 days to complete.

Other areas which took over 330 days to complete were Islington, Camden, Copeland and Richmond. In the bottom 20 for sale speed were also Gwynedd, Kensington and Chelsea, Bournemouth, Lambeth and Malvern Hills.

Which areas were the quickest?

The fastest average for a property to go from listing to completion was 191 days in Nuneaton and Bedworth. Coming second was Torfaen in Wales which took 193 days. Third was in the Midlands, Bromsgrove, which took 197 days on average.

Also below 210 days to completion on average were Trafford, Bolsover, North East Lincolnshire, Stockport, Walsall, Charnwood, Wellingborough, Mansfield, Redditch and Coventry.

If we look at London, the average quickest sales were in Bexley, which took 230 days, Dagenham which took 235 days, and Newham which took 247 days.

What do GetAgent.co.uk say?

Founder and CEO named Colby Short, said:

“It’s clear that the ongoing market uncertainty surrounding Brexit had a direct impact on selling times across the nation over 2019, increasing almost consistently throughout the year and culminating with the longest selling times seen all year, due to a combination of pre-election angst and a seasonal market slowdown in the final quarter of the year.

However, as always, the UK property market is a patchwork quilt constructed of many different markets, all acting independently with their own levels of demand and rates of house price growth. So while the average home seller had no choice but to twiddle their thumbs for almost eight and a half months before completing, for many, this happened much quicker.

Looking ahead, it’s now clear that December’s election result has spurred an almost immediate market revival and with high levels of activity returning on both the buyer and seller side of the fence, growing momentum should see the time taking to sell reduce substantially over the coming year.”

Looking to sell faster?

At The Property Buying Company, the average time to complete is 14-21 days, this is 810% - 1,264% quicker compared to the fastest average in the UK for 2019 at 191 days. Get a free no obligation cash offer today.