How long does the average move take?

- Fri 26 Jul 2024

Selling a home in England can be a complex process, often taking longer than many sellers anticipate. Understanding the timeline and potential delays can help you better prepare for the journey ahead and save you valuable time and reduce stress.

It should also be highlighted that whilst you can take steps to speed up the process, there are some elements you don’t want to rush as they could negatively impact the sale later on in the process.

Here are the key stages to consider and the national average timescales (approximately):

1. Marketing the Property

The first step in selling your home is to market it effectively. This involves choosing an estate agent, ensuring the launch price is reflective of the current market conditions. Be sure to get evidence on suggested values to support the agent’s suggested appraisal.

It is strongly advised to instruct a conveyancer at the outset to not only speed up the process later on, they will also be able to provide the agent with any information relating to your property title that should be included in the advertising under the recent material information legislation ( https://www.bradleys-estate-agents.co.uk/articles/why-home-sellers-need-to-be-aware-of-the-new-material-information-legislation) guidance released by National Trading Standards in 2023.

Staging and photographing your home is important and when it comes to launching it to the market you don’t get a second chance to create a first impression. The majority of serious buyers will have property alerts set up and are therefore notified in hours of your home being put up for sale, don’t rush the photos and videos or the serious buyers could get put off at the first glance!

The average timescale recently reported by property website Rightmove from launching a property for sale and securing a buyer was 62 days, and 74 days by independent data company Twenty EA.

2. Offer to Exchange of Contracts

Once an offer is accepted, the conveyancers (if instructed at the outset) can issue a draft contract immediately to the buyer’s conveyancer. If you are only instructing a conveyancer at this point you could add up to 3 weeks onto the process.

Every offer must be put forward to the sellers for consideration, along with the buyers position, details of any chain and key facts that ay affect the sellers decision. Each purchaser must have their identify confirmed to protect money laundering along with a check of their finances to ensure they can afford the property.

The key elements to be aware of include property searches, which will vary by local authority and can take 2-6 weeks, mortgage offers are usually issued in 2-4 weeks, enquiries about the property, the title, any concerns the buyer has raised can take 1-3 weeks. If a homebuyers or buildings survey is being carried out this should be carried out as early as possible to avoid last minute concerns and depending on how busy local surveyors are may have several weeks waiting lists.

Many of these can be done alongside each other, however the latest timescale to achieve exchange of contracts according to Twenty EA is 16.1 weeks (113 days).

3. Exchange of Contracts to Completion

Prior to contracts being exchanged all parties in the chain will agree a date for completion, which is commonly between 1 and 2 weeks.

On the agreed date, the buyer’s solicitor transfers the funds, and the keys are handed over.

4. Common Reasons for Delays

Several factors can cause delays in the home-selling process and unfortunately 1 in 3 transactions experience this and can result in you having to re-market your property. The quicker the conveyance can conclude, the less chance there will be of this happening

Chain complications: If you’re part of a property chain, delays in other transactions can affect your timeline.
Survey issues: Problems identified in the buyer’s survey may require renegotiation or repairs.
Legal issues: Complications with the property’s title or legal disputes can slow down the process. This will be vastly reduced when sellers and buyers become more familiar with the latest Material Information as these can be identified earlier in the process.
Leasehold information and issues. Management Companies are required to collate and provide information about any leasehold properties including accounts and repairs, which can cause delays. Typically leasehold transactions will take 4-8 weeks longer than freehold transactions.

Conclusion

On average, selling a home in England from start to finish can take anywhere from 6 months upwards depending on various factors.

Being aware of the potential delays and preparing accordingly can help ensure a smoother transaction. Working closely with your estate agent and solicitor, and maintaining open communication with all parties involved, can also help expedite the process.

Bradleys Estate Agents have followed guidance from National Trading Standards to ensure they and their sellers are marketing each home compliantly, and at the same time will speed up the timescales to move and reduce the chance of your home having to be remarketed after a buyer has been found.

If you are considering a move, discuss the timescales at the outset with your estate agent and conveyancer to help speed up each part of the process and remember the more prepare you are as a seller, the more attractive you will be to a potential buyer!

How long does the average move take?

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