The WORST locations to promote your own home proper now, the place sellers face a seven month wait to trade and a THIRD of offers fall by way of

It is taking more than six months for the average property seller to go from listing their home for sale to exchanging contracts, new data has revealed.

Data from the property analytics firm TwentyCi shows sellers wait a staggering 201 days on average to exchange, though in some regions that stretches to 233 days or more than seven months.

In one neighbourhood of London, it’s taking almost a year and half.

Figures shared exclusively with This is Money by property analytics firm TwentyCi lay bare the logjam those trying to move face at the moment. 

Buying agent, Jonathan Hopper of Garrington Property Finders says the long delays are due to buyers being in the driving seat – and often in no hurry to find a home. 

This has happened because the number of homes on the market far exceeds the buyers who might want to purchase them. 

‘For the best part of twelve to eighteen months, buyers have had both time and choice on their hands,’ Hopper says.

‘The urgency that characterised the boom years, where hesitation genuinely risked losing a property, has largely evaporated. 

‘Buyers are more considered, more cautious, and under far less competitive pressure to move quickly. That inevitably extends timelines.’

More sales collapse 

The chance of a sale collapsing is also much higher than many will expect, with around one in four sales falling through after the offer stage according to TwentyCi’s data.

In parts of London this figure is much higher, with 38 per cent falling through in the WC2N postcode covering Charing Cross. 

In English law nothing is binding about a property transaction until the exchange of signed contracts, albeit keys are only handed over upon completion, the date of which is typically set at the point of exchange.

Tracking every property that hits the market, TwentyCi was also able to measure the likelihood of a successful sale once a home is listed for sale.

While 55 per cent of homes go on to sell once on the market, according to TwentyCi, this is particularly bad in inner London where homes stand a 33 per cent chance of finding a buyer. 

According to Hopper, part of the reason for this is that property chains are getting longer. 

‘A higher proportion of buyers now need to sell their existing property before they can proceed with a purchase,’ he says. 

‘The longer the chain, the greater the number of variables and potential points of delay between an offer being accepted and contracts being exchanged.’

He also blames the speed and quality of the legal process involved with buying and selling a home. 

‘The variation in standards across the legal profession is stark,’ he says. ‘The best firms are proactive, commercially minded and drive transactions forward with real purpose. Others adopt a far more passive approach, waiting for information to arrive rather than chasing it down. 

‘Buyers rarely give enough thought to the quality of their conveyancing solicitor at the point of instruction, and too often prioritise cost over capability. 

‘Local authority search turnaround times also vary enormously across different councils.’

For those homes that do sell, the price agreed is usually under the asking price.

Nationally, over the last 12 months, properties that sell are achieving an average of 97 per cent of the sale price. That would mean a home on the market for £300,000 that’s under offer us typically selling for £291,000.

Where it’s worst to be a seller right now

Central London is currently the most challenging region in the UK to sell a property, according to TwentyCi. 

It combined data on price achieved, how likely each property is to sell, how fast it will exchange, how likely a sale is to fall through and how likely a home is to have its asking price cut to come up with the rankings. 

Over the last 12 months, four of the five of the worst places to sell a home were in Inner London, where properties that sell are achieving an average of 96 per cent of the sale price.

An average inner London home listed for around £650,000 that goes under offer will typically be sold for around £26,000 below its asking price. 

A home in Inner London also takes longer to sell than properties elsewhere, taking an average of 225 days to exchange contracts compared to 201 days nationally. Outer London is actually even worse – taking 233 days on average.

Colin Bradshaw, chief executive of TwentyCi, said: ‘It won’t come as a surprise to see that Inner London is the most challenging region in the UK in which to sell property. 

‘Cautious buyers of premium-priced properties seeking value against an uncertain economic backdrop seem to have been taking a ‘wait and see’ approach, with only a third of properties listed in the region going on to sell, versus the UK overall where over half of properties are sold.’

A whopping 41 per cent of listings in inner London have had at least one price reduction and if a sale is agreed, it is more likely to fall through – 26.6 per cent compared to 23.6 per cent nationally. 

This includes the SW3 postcode that covers Chelsea, Brompton and Knightsbridge, the SW1E area around Buckingham Gate and Victoria Station, Hatton Garden (EC1N) and Charing Cross (WC2N).

Around Hatton Garden, it takes the average seller a staggering 498 days to get their home to the point of exchange. That’s 355 days to go under offer and a further 143 days to then exchange contracts.

Around Charing Cross, homes have a 37.5 per cent chance of falling through once a home is under offer, suggesting buyers are acutely nervous and flakey.

Meanwhile, homes around Buckingham Gate and Victoria Station have a mere 15.9 per cent chance of selling once on the market.

 Ollie Marshall, director of buying agency Prime Purchase says central London has been a tough place to sell property for more than a decade now.

In Chelsea and Kensington, for example, house prices are almost 20 per cent under where they were in 2014, according to Land Registry data. That’s the equivalent of almost a £300,000 loss in nominal value for the average home there over a 12-year period.

Marshall thinks there is every possibility of the market becoming more attractive to investors and buyers under a future government. He therefore argues it’s a good time to bag a ‘bargain’ – for those wealthy enough to do so. 

‘It’s best to take a step back and look at longer-term data which tells us that prime central London is now 10 years-plus into a bear market which I am not aware of ever having happened before,’ says Marshall.

‘This would suggest that now is a good time to take advantage of discounts but on the basis there is potentially some short-term political risk on the horizon before a recovery as we move towards the next election and potentially a more tax-friendly government. 

Outside of London, sellers in the B3 postcode are also having a hard time of it. This includes Birmingham City Centre and Ladywood.

In B3, it’s taking 309 days to exchange contracts, according to TwentyCi. That’s 165 days to go under offer and then a further 144 days to get to exchange.

Properties in that part of Birmingham have a staggeringly bad chance of falling through at 43.8 per cent. 

And once listed for sale, a property has a 26.5 per cent chance of going on to sell.

Where it’s best to be a seller right now

Selling a property in the North is generally much easier than in the South, according to TwentyCi. 

Scotland is by far the easiest region in which to sell. Properties there sell more quickly, are more likely to complete, and tend to achieve a higher proportion of the asking price, most likely due to the country’s ‘offers over’ system.

Price reductions are also less common in Scotland, and fall-throughs are significantly lower, in part due to Scotland’s legal processes for property transactions.

‘Scotland continues to be the easiest place to sell, its legal system cushioning the market against a range of factors impacting the rankings of properties in all other regions,’ said Colin Bradshaw of TwentyCi.

‘Even if we exclude Scotland however, Northern regions are clearly outperforming the South thanks to quicker sell times and less price reductions.’