As featured in Property Reporter on 18TH JANUARY 2023
The areas of the UK with the fastest and slowest property completions
Despite some heat coming out of the market over the past few months, as usual, some areas of the UK are seeing faster completion times than others, according to newly released data from property data platform, MoveSmart.
From the day of listing, the average home in Birmingham City centre took 48 weeks to complete, while in Summerfield Park in Birmingham, the average time was 35 weeks to complete.
The average home in Clapton, East London took 40 weeks from the day of listing to completion, according to a new report, which reveals the top 10 fastest and slowest-selling areas in England.
However, it’s not just major cities like Birmingham and London where sellers are waiting a long time. The average home in Doncaster, Portsmouth and Sheffield all took an average of 40 weeks to reach completion.
Even in the fastest locations, the time from listing to completion is between three to four months. The fastest areas include Dinckley in Blackburn (16 weeks), Swanage in Bournemouth (16 weeks) and Formby in Liverpool (15 weeks), reflecting high levels of demand – and efficient conveyancing – for limited new stock coming to market. However, for people who want a fast sale for relocation, in particular, to not lose another home, this is a reminder that receiving an offer doesn’t necessarily make your sale proceedable.
Cormac Henderson, CEO of national home buying service, Spring, comments: “Historically, sales in major cities like Birmingham and London have been reasonably fast to transact, however, with fewer and fewer people wanting to live in dense urban areas due to new lifestyle choices, ongoing demand for flexible working and greater demand for outside space, it isn’t surprising to see the slowdown.
“However, we must also remember that conveyancing demand in these areas is likely to be more concentrated, which will play a part in the overall completion time.
“It is fascinating to see that Swanage in Bournemouth and Formby in Liverpool are at the top of the table for places where homes are completing the fastest. This may signal that more people are looking to relocate nearer the coast, creating hotspots in coastal towns as people seek to make the most of not needing to be in the office full-time or at all.
“MoveSmart enables both sellers and buyers to have a better understanding of the property market so they can make a smart choice on the location of their next home.”
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