- London takes 174 days on average to complete a property transaction after a sale is agreed.
- The average home move across Britain now takes 216 days, the longest recorded for this time of year.
- Scotland remains the fastest market, helped by a different legal system and upfront property information.
Buying or selling a home in London is taking longer than anywhere else in Britain, with new Rightmove data showing that property transactions now take an average of 174 days to complete after a sale has been agreed. The figures make London the slowest region in the country for completing home moves and highlight growing delays across the UK property market.
The slowdown is not limited to the capital. Rightmove's analysis found that the average home move across Britain now takes 216 days, including 62 days to find a buyer and 154 days to complete the legal process. The property portal said this is the longest overall moving timeline recorded at this point in the year.
The biggest delay starts after the sale is agreed
The figures suggest that finding a buyer is no longer the biggest obstacle. Instead, most delays occur during the legal and administrative process between agreeing a sale and completing the transaction.
Longer completion times can create difficulties for buyers and sellers alike, particularly those dealing with mortgage offers, rental agreements, school admissions or onward property purchases. Rightmove estimates that around £205 billion worth of residential property is currently listed on its platform, meaning prolonged transactions could also slow wider economic activity linked to mortgages, legal services, removals and home improvements.
The type of property also makes a difference. Flats take the longest to complete, averaging 169 days, while semi-detached and terraced homes complete more quickly at around 149 days.
Why some parts of Britain move much faster
Completion times vary sharply across the country. The North East of England is the fastest region in England, completing transactions around 33 days quicker than London.
Scotland remains the quickest housing market overall, with transactions taking an average of 98 days. Property experts attribute this to Scotland's different legal process, which includes Home Reports and more upfront information before a property is listed for sale.
At a local level, Clackmannanshire recorded Britain's fastest completion time at 76 days, while Slough had the slowest in England at 229 days. North East Derbyshire was the fastest English local authority outside Scotland, averaging 120 days.
Rightmove Chief Executive Johan Svanstrom said an average wait of 154 days to complete a property transaction was "simply far too long", as quoted in a news report. He said housing mobility plays an important role in economic growth and argued that greater digitisation, stronger information standards and improved transparency could help speed up the homebuying process.
The Government has already committed to reforming the homebuying system, including plans to introduce mandatory sales packs aimed at reducing delays.
Ian Harris, President of NAEA Propertymark, reportedly said the latest figures show buyers are not struggling to find purchasers but are instead becoming frustrated by the lengthy period between agreeing a sale and finally completing the move.
