Analysis of more than 101,000 property sales within the past year has unveiled an intriguing trend: the completion process for flats takes an average of 24 days longer than that for houses.
Property Solvers, a specialist in home buying and auctioneering, conducted an extensive study encompassing 101,126 house sale transactions. This research, spanning from June 2022 to June 2023, yielded valuable insights into the varying speeds at which different property types were sold.
The examination of transactions encompassed the entire journey, commencing from the point of listing on the UK‘s prominent property portals and culminating with the confirmation of completion at HM Land Registry. Among the findings, it emerged that semi-detached houses commanded the shortest time frames for sale. Specifically, 32,109 semi-detached residences were successfully sold within an average of 150 days.
Terraced houses followed closely behind, with 30,009 transactions taking an average of 152 days from initiation to completion. The category of detached properties saw 28,664 sales, each concluding within an average of 155 days across the same period.
In contrast, flats and apartments proved to be the slowest in terms of sale, where 10,344 properties required an average of 176 days to navigate the sales process. Notably, these calculations encompass weekends, providing a comprehensive view of the time involved.
Addressing the data, Ruban Selvanayagam, co-founder of Property Solvers, offered insights into the reasons behind these trends: “It may come as little surprise that flats take longer to sell due to the extra Law Society paperwork and protracted legal enquiries with freeholder/management companies. Although houses can often come with their own set of issues, the process tends to be a little easier to navigate.”
The research further illuminated that, on certain occasions, properties changed hands in a remarkably swift two-week timeframe. This accelerated pace often pertained to cash purchases, where buyers circumvented reliance on mortgage financing and benefited from pre-prepared conveyancing paperwork, expediting the transaction process.
Selvanayagam concluded by emphasizing the collaborative nature of expediting sales: “In terms of getting a speedier sale – regardless of the type of property transaction – both the buyer and the seller need to take a proactive role in ensuring things move in the right direction. Working with a good estate agent, conveyancing solicitor and mortgage broker is also crucial.”
