What’s the average time to sell a home in the UK?

Rightmove states that the average time on the market, between first listing and accepting an offer is 62 days, depending on where you live. It should be noted that this figure does not include conveyancing time, which the HomeOwners Alliance estimates takes 12-16 weeks.

All these are answers to the question ‘how long does it take to sell a house in the UK on the open market?’. It is, of course, possible to sell quicker than this by selling your house at auction or by selling your home to a cash buyer. Selling at auction takes around two months (if you are successful at your first auction) and selling your house to a cash home buying company only takes around 14 days.

The selling process for homeowners – A timeline

The average time to sell a house depends on when you call the start and end points of a house sale. As discussed, the average time to find a buyer after listing your home can be as little as nine weeks, however this is just part of the house selling process.

Timeline for selling a house UK

There are a number of stages to selling a house, and each adds to the overall timeline for selling a property. Let’s take a look at the property selling timeline in detail:

• Preparing your home to go to market (several weeks) – as we have discussed elsewhere, you need to prepare your property for market if you want to get the best possible price. This includes minor repairs and redecorating, tidying up and decluttering, smartening up the exterior, etc. Depending on how much time you have to spare, this can take a number of weeks to complete.
• Choosing an estate agent (at least a week) – choosing the right estate agent is not something to be rushed. The right agent can shave weeks off your sale time and add thousands to your sale price.
• Waiting for the right time (variable) – it is important to avoid the traditional lulls in the market, such as the summer holidays and the run up to Christmas. Waiting for the right market conditions can mean being patient for several months, but it is well worth it.
• Listing your property (one week) – having photographs and/or videos taken and written listings created and approved takes at least a week. Again, this should not be rushed as most buyers will make judgments about your home based on this information alone, especially if they are using property portals.
• Viewings and offers (8-12 weeks) – once you have approved your listing, you can finally go on the market. You may be lucky and find a buyer in the initial wave of interest, but most people have to wait several weeks before they receive an offer.
• Negotiations (at least a week) – most buyers will open with a lower offer, and this kicks off a process of haggling. Since each offer and counter offer has to go via the estate agent, this process can take a week or more before you reach a price you are both happy with.
• Offer accepted – only once your offer is accepted can you move on to the formal process of conveyancing. In total, the conveyancing process can take anything from 12 to 16 weeks. 
• Surveys and searches (several weeks) – depending on your solicitors, undertaking surveys and searches can take several weeks. This process may involve further negotiations if there are issues with the survey.
• Exchange of contracts – once you have agreed a final price for your property, your solicitor can draw up contracts to be exchanged. This is the point of no return and if your buyers pull out after this point, they will be liable to a financial penalty.
• Completion of sale (up to four weeks) – while it is possible to exchange and complete a sale on the same day, there is usually a short delay to allow flexibility for all parties to organise their actual move. This is usually just a week or two, but can be longer.

What happens if your sale falls through?

The above timeline assumes that everything goes smoothly, and that your sale goes through without a hitch. However, research quoted by Property Industry Eye, shows that as many as 31.3% or almost one in three home sales fall through before exchange of contracts. 

Selling a home can feel like a game of snakes and ladders. If your property sale falls through, then you will slide all the way back to the point where you originally listed your home, and you will have to start all over again. This type of delay can add months to the selling process, and cost you thousands of pounds.

Can you do anything to speed-up the process?

The process of selling a house can be frustratingly slow, and to make matters worse, many of the sticking points will be completely out of your control. However, the good news is that there are a number of ways we can show you how to speed up the house selling process. Here’s just a few of our top tips for selling a home faster:

• Make your home ready to sell – Don’t try to hide problems or expect your buyers to fix them after they have moved in. To sell fast your property needs to be presented at its very best, with all work completed, so your buyers can move straight in without any hassle, delays or expense.
• List your home at the right price – we all want the best possible price for our homes, but you need to be realistic or your home will sit on the market for months with no interest. It is better to slightly under-price your property, compared to similar homes in the area. This will generate lots of interest, fast, and could even prompt a bidding war that gets you far more than you expected.
• Choose the right estate agent – don’t just choose the cheapest or the one round the corner. Pick your estate agent carefully, based on their success record in the local area and recommendations from your family and friends. Don’t let higher fees put you off, because they could be worth every penny if they sell your home quicker for more money.
• Choose the right solicitor – online conveyancing companies may seem cheap and cheerful, but they rarely give you the same level of personal service as a local firm. Choosing a respected local solicitor means they will understand the local market and you can call in to sign paperwork to speed up the process.
• Be responsive to all queries – if you want to sell your home as quickly as possible, then you need to make sure you are not the one causing delays. From being available and flexible for viewings, to processing paperwork promptly, you should do everything you can to keep things moving.
• Keep up the momentum with all parties – your home sale may be the most important thing to you, but you are just one more property on the pile for your local estate agent or your solicitor. It is up to you to keep up the momentum by keeping your sale front of mind for all concerned. Arranging a regular update from your property professionals is a good way to focus their minds on your sale.

The fastest way to sell your home

If you really want to sell your house as quickly as possible, then your best choice is to sell your home to a cash house buyer. You simply cannot speed up the house selling process any more than this.

Cash buyers will buy any house, in any condition, in as little as 14 days. This saves you all the time and effort needed to sell your home on the open market, and also avoids all of the potential problems that can slow down your sale. Selling to a fast homebuyer for cash provides a swift and simple, stress-free house sale that is guaranteed.

To see how much you could get by selling your home fast to a cash buyer in as little as 14 days, click the free cash offer calculator button below:

What are the common reasons for delays in the sales process?

Sadly, while there are a number of ways that you can speed up your home sale, there will always be some aspects of the sale that are out of your hands. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about these elements, which is why it is important to make sure you have done all the things you can do to speed up your home sale.

Your home sale could be slowed down by any or all of the following:

• Slow market conditions – The UK property market can be quite fickle, and is influenced by a huge variety of factors, both on a national and a local level. Often these are hard to predict, such as COVID, and there may be little you can do about them.
• Political changes – political changes in particular can have sudden and unexpected effects on the housing market. For example, no one saw Liz Truss coming or the far-reaching global consequences of Donald Trump’s re-election. Even local decisions, such as new roads or new supermarkets can have an impact on how fast you can sell your home.
• Buyers with cold feet – Sometimes, despite you doing everything you can to make your property ready for sale, your buyers may still drag their feet. Young and first-time buyers can be especially nervous and indecisive, slowing the whole sales process down.
• Slow estate agents or solicitors – property professionals are busy people, and your home sale may not always get the attention it deserves. It is easy for a property to stall at any point in the process as it gets lost amongst all their other responsibilities.
• Issues with the survey – sometimes you may suspect that there is a problem with your home, but often issues that come up on the survey come completely out of the blue. Such issues can add weeks of re-negotiation with your buyers and their mortgage lenders, and you may need to renegotiate with your own mortgage lender if you are offered less than you need for your next home.
• Financial issues with the buyer – the problem with a mortgage in principle is that it is no more than that. It does not guarantee that your buyers will get the mortgage they need for a particular property, and you may find that they are struggling to get the money they need for you to complete the sale.

Chain versus no chain

Even if everything is going well with your own home sale, if there are associated sales in a chain, your sale can still be slowed down. Each of the possible issues with your own sale also apply to every other sale in the chain, increasing the chances that something will go wrong somewhere down the line.

If you want to sell your home fast, then you should choose your buyers carefully. Look for first-time buyers or buyers who are currently renting to avoid a chain, and try to find an onward purchase that is chain free. If this is not possible, aim to keep the number of links in the chain as few as possible.

Expert Insight from Kelvin Elliott