Where are currently the quickest places to sell your home in the UK?

Selling a property in the UK is no mean feat. Some say the time of year can affect a sale, some say market fluctuations, some say location. They're probably all correct to some extent.

Related topics:  Property
Warren Lewis
20th March 2020
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Generally speaking, we're left entirely at the mercy of the property market and how it's doing – and that heavily impacts the amount of time it takes to sell a property.

However, it might be surprising to know that some people actually experience a quick and easy sale – whereas others can be left up to a year and even longer for their property to sell.

Therefore the question remains – does where you're based in the UK really make a difference to the selling time of your home?

According to UK quick house sale experts Ready Steady Sell, it took the average UK homeowner (selling on the open market) in 2019 as many as between 250-290 days to sell their home in its entire capacity. That means from the property being put on the market, up until the contracts are signed and exchanged, the process is complete. Selling property is supposed to be an exciting time – whether you're moving for work, pleasure, or are even looking forward to releasing the equity on your house. But that can be quickly tarnished by having to wait a long time for your home to be taken off the market.

However, it has been proven that living in certain cities and areas in the UK can help homeowners to sell their houses fast, in comparison to other regions.

Where were the Quickest Selling Areas in the UK in 2019?

First off, we're going to be taking a look at where the quickest selling areas were in the UK in 2019 from data provided by Ready Steady Sell.

Professionally conducted research has proven that the quickest selling areas in the nation were Hertfordshire and Norfolk, with the average selling time taking as little as 161 days in Hertfordshire, and 180 in Norfolk – so that's great news if you live there or in surrounding areas and are looking to sell. This is the time taken from the properties first being listed.

In Wales, the quickest selling area found was Llandyrnog, with sales generally taking well below 250 days and the average number being around 190 days up until completion.

Other areas that were competing for the quickest sales times were Durham and North Yorkshire, with their general timings being around the 210-day mark.

Some other quick areas included Devon, Lincolnshire, West Sussex, the Western Isles and Northumberland.

What were the Slowest Selling Areas in the UK in 2019?

Next up, we're of course going to be taking a look at some of the areas that were home to the slowest-selling properties back in 2019.

Further research proved that the slowest-selling areas across the nation were in Surrey and Devon. The average selling time in Surrey in 2019 was 374 days, and it's even worse news for those based in Devon, with the average selling time being calculated at a whopping 397 days.

The slowest market in Wales was proven to be in Bari Island, despite it being the home of the much loved British TV series Gavin and Stacey. Although the island is frequently visited by tourists and fans of the show, it took properties on the market an average of 335 days to sell on the traditional market.

A couple of other places of interest who ranked lowly on the sales scale were Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Cumbria, with their sales times coming in at 324, 356 and 349 days respectively.

Other areas that took longer than the average time to sell in the UK in 2019 were Essex, Pembrokeshire, Barnsley, Stirling, Fife, Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and the Isle of Man.

Is there Any Correlation Between Areas?

Finally, you might be wondering, with the list being such a mixed bag of areas and regions up and down the country, whether or not there's any sort of correlation of the exact placement of the place, and the time of sale. The answer is no.

Very simply, although it's apparent the place can affect the time of sale, that doesn't seem to have anything to do with where it is on the map. Each individual town, city and region have their own property market that varies widely.

Of course, factors such as the UK leaving the UK and sudden pre-election jitters also impacted the property market throughout the nation – that's not surprising.

But yes, where you live in the UK can hugely influence how long the sale of your home might take.

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