It took the average home seller 256 days to sell in 2019 – here’s where the best and worst spots were across the nation

The latest research by leading estate agent comparison website, GetAgent.co.uk, has looked at the time it took to sell a home in 2019 and where was home to the longest home selling process in the midst of Brexit induced market uncertainty.

GetAgent.co.uk pulls data from all of the major portals which they then cross-reference with the Land Registry using proprietary algorithms to create a comprehensive record of what is selling, where, for how much and how long it’s taking.

The latest data looks at the total average time to sell a home throughout 2019, from the first day it was listed on the property portals until the day it is marked sold by the Land Registry.

The research shows that on average across the nation, homesellers were seeing their home take 256 days to sell from first listing it online, until the point the sale completed, climbing to 295 in the capital.

This average time increased throughout the year, with it taking 250 days during the first quarter of 2019, having increased 8.5% to 271 days by the final quarter, up 3.3% between Q3 and Q4 alone.

The pocket of the nation that endured the biggest market slowdown was Eden, where the average property sale took 393 days to complete! Westminster was home to the second-longest selling time and worst in London, taking 390 days to complete.

Ceredigion ranks as the slowest market in Wales with the average sale dragging out for 388 days, while homeowners in Islington (373), Camden (333), Copeland (332) and Richmond (331) also saw their sale take longer than 330 days.

Other areas to make the list of top 20 longest house sales of 2019 include Gwynedd, Kensington and Chelsea, Bournemouth, Lambeth and Malvern Hills.

But it’s not all bad news for UK homeowners and as always, some areas of the market defied wider market conditions to enjoy much shorter selling times.

The best in the nation was Nuneaton and Bedworth, where the average property took just 191 days from first listing online to complete. Torfaen was the best performing market in Wales with homes selling in 193 days on average, while Bromsgrove in the Midlands ranked third at 197 days.

Other areas to see the time to sell sit below 210 days include Trafford, Bolsover, North East Lincolnshire, Stockport, Walsall, Charnwood, Wellingborough, Mansfield, Redditch and Coventry.

In London, Bexley (230), Barking and Dagenham (235) and Newham (247) were home to the quickest home sales of 2019.

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“It’s clear that the ongoing market uncertainty surrounding Brexit had a direct impact on selling times across the nation over 2019, increasing almost consistently throughout the year and culminating with the longest selling times seen all year, due to a combination of pre-election angst and a seasonal market slowdown in the final quarter of the year.

However, as always, the UK property market is a patchwork quilt constructed of many different markets, all acting independently with their own levels of demand and rates of house price growth. So while the average home seller had no choice but to twiddle their thumbs for almost eight and a half months before completing, for many, this happened much quicker.

Looking ahead, it’s now clear that December’s election result has spurred an almost immediate market revival and with high levels of activity returning on both the buyer and seller side of the fence, growing momentum should see the time taking to sell reduce substantially over the coming year.”

National and London Average
Location
Average Time to Sell (days)
England & Wales
256
London
295
England and Wales (2019)
2019
Average Time to Sell (days)
Quarterly Change
Change Q1-Q4
Q1
250
8.5%
Q2
248
-0.8%
Q3
263
5.9%
Q4
271
3.3%

 

National Rankings – by fastest time to sell
Location
Average Time to Sell (days)
Nuneaton & Bedworth
191
Torfaen
193
Bromsgrove
197
Trafford
203
Bolsover
204
North East Lincolnshire
204
Stockport
205
Walsall
206
Charnwood
208
Wellingborough
208
Mansfield
209
Redditch
209
Coventry
209
South Staffordshire
211
Wyre Forest
212
South Gloucestershire
212
Tamworth
213
Sedgemoor
213
Broxtowe
213
Harrogate
213
National Rankings – by slowest time to sell
Location
Average Time to Sell (days)
Eden
393
Westminster
390
Ceredigion
388
Islington
373
Camden
333
Copeland
332
Richmond upon Thames
331
Gwynedd
329
Pembrokeshire
324
Kensington and Chelsea
323
Epsom and Ewell
323
Hammersmith and Fulham
322
Barnet
321
Bournemouth
319
Elmbridge
319
Wandsworth
319
Lambeth
315
Haringey
310
Melton
310
Malvern Hills
309
London Rankings – Quickest to Slowest Boroughs
Location
Average Time to Sell (days)
Bexley
230
Barking and Dagenham
235
Newham
247
Havering
258
City of London
268
Waltham Forest
271
Hounslow
274
Hillingdon
274
Ealing
274
Redbridge
276
Hackney
282
Bromley
283
Croydon
284
Enfield
287
Merton
288
Kingston upon Thames
289
Sutton
289
Harrow
291
Greenwich
291
Brent
294
Tower Hamlets
302
Lewisham
303
Southwark
305
Haringey
310
Lambeth
315
Wandsworth
319
Barnet
321
Hammersmith and Fulham
322
Kensington and Chelsea
323
Richmond upon Thames
331
Camden
333
Islington
373
Westminster
390

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

UK monthly property transactions for May 2025

Headline statistics from the latest transactions data include: the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 81,470, 12% lower than May 2024 and 25% higher than April 2025 the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 80,530, 13% lower than May 2024 and…
Read More
Breaking News

Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) shows the Government has a plan

The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) held its first board meeting today (26 June 2025), where it set out a roadmap for recruiting 100,000 more construction workers a year by the end of Parliament. Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) is a recognition…
Read More
Paint Stripper Tools
Estate Agent Talk

5 Strategies to Optimise Your Warehouse for Real Estate

The term fixer-upper can mean many things, from ‘slap some paint on the walls and it looks brand new’ to ‘will this building collapse if we open the front door?’ Indeed, in the dicey world of commercial property acquisition, each warehouse you buy will probably fall into both camps. Thinking about the viability of warehouses…
Read More
Breaking News

HMOs sell for up to 50% above market average

New research from Excellion Capital, the boutique debt advisory and investment firm, reveals that HMOs sell for as much as 50% above the average house price, further increasing their investment potential after it was revealed that HMOs also create rental yields of up to 12.5%. After previous research from Excellion Capital recently showed that the…
Read More
Breaking News

UK buyers struggle while 50,000 homes sit empty

As the UK housing crisis deepens, new analysis by Open Property Group exposes a worrying surge in so-called “zombie homes”- properties that sit unoccupied and deteriorating while millions struggle to access affordable housing. Key insights: 50,000+ long-term vacant homes in England alone 23,000+ of these have been empty for more than two years Estimated £13.6…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 26/06/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The UK is Europe’s second most distressed market despite headline GDP growth Retail and Consumers Goods has emerged as the most distressed sector in Europe, with distress levels now the highest since the global financial crisis, according to the latest Weil European Distress Index (WEDI). The…
Read More