Where are the Best and Worst Places to Sell a Property in the UK?

It can be frustrating when you’re looking for a buyer, with an endless waiting game of viewings upon viewings, and either no offers, or no offers you really want to accept.

Developed with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), Post Office Money looks at the average time it takes for a property to sell in 35 major UK cities.

Quickest rate of sale

The Northern cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow have the fastest selling homes in the UK. Properties here spend an average of 39 to 48 days on the market, respectively. Scotland’s property market is particularly competitive at the moment too, with house prices increasing by 5.8% up to September this year.

Both cities remain relatively affordable too, in comparison to the rest of the UK, and strong population growth in key areas has increased demand for housing.

Slowest rate of sale 

Properties in London and Blackpool take the longest period of time to achieve a sale, at 126 and 131 days respectively.

Despite London having one of the most competitive property markets, the cost of its properties, combined with double-digit price growth, mean properties can take a long time to find a buyer. In fact, properties with a value of £1m or more take 171 days on average to sell, whereas properties under £1m take around 99 days.

Whilst Blackpool sits at the other end of the spectrum in terms of its affordability, it has the oldest average population age in the country. This means its unlikely to be benefitting from as many younger people, including first time buyers, that are in the market for a property in the area.

Year-on-year changes for the average time it takes a property to sell

Belfast and Swansea, which are particularly affordable areas of the country, have seen the biggest fall in the time properties spend on the market, with 17 and 14 days less, respectively.

Meanwhile, Bristol and Luton have had the biggest increase, taking on average 10 to 14 days longer to sell than in previous years.

Ross Hunter, spokesperson for Post Office Money, said: “Properties are taking slightly longer to sell but this doesn’t mean that interest in moving up the housing ladder is waning. At Post Office, for instance, we have continued to see a rise in mortgage applications and approvals in the last year.

“First-time buyers have actually increased by 12% across the market in the last year alone, encouraged by the reduction made to stamp duty costs and mortgage innovation. We also know that housing supply has increased significantly – the number of homes completed in Q2 2018 was up 7% in England compared to the previous quarter, so there are more properties available to choose from for perspective buyers.”