Where are homes selling fastest?
If you’re thinking of selling your home, you might be wondering how long you can expect it to be on the market for, before finding a buyer.
Our monthly House Price Index looks at the average time to sell in each region of England, as well as Scotland and Wales. And right now, it’s taking just under two months (59 days) to find a buyer nationally. This is the average time it takes from a property first appearing on Rightmove, until it is marked as under offer or Sold Subject to Contract.
But the length of time varies depending on where in Great Britain your home is, with homes in some areas selling faster than others.
There’s lots to indicate that the sooner a home attracts interest from buyers, the more likely it is to sell. Our data shows that a home that receives an enquiry from a prospective buyer on the first day of marketing is 60% more likely to sell than if it takes two weeks to receive an enquiry.
We’ve taken a look at the top performers in each region of England, and in Scotland and Wales, for the quickest time to find a buyer:
| Area | Region | Time to find a buyer | Asking price Sept 2023 | Asking price Sept 2022 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prestwick | Scotland | 14 | £198,249 | £193,731 | 2% |
| Fenham | North East | 29 | £154,212 | £150,822 | 2% |
| Kirkby | North West | 30 | £149,392 | £140,979 | 6% |
| Eccleshill | Yorks & Humber | 31 | £164,838 | £164,396 | 0% |
| St. Judes | South West | 32 | £196,337 | £193,839 | 1% |
| Alvaston | East Midlands | 32 | £198,994 | £175,464 | 13% |
| Northfleet | South East | 36 | £322,487 | £330,529 | -2% |
| Willenhall | West Midlands | 37 | £200,209 | £201,580 | -1% |
| Witham | East of England | 39 | £326,735 | £333,874 | -2% |
| Worcester Park | London | 40 | £571,562 | £575,478 | -1% |
| Canton | Wales | 42 | £308,973 | £326,252 | -5% |
Fastest areas: where are house prices still rising?
We’ve seen house prices edge down slowly this year, but they did increase slightly over the last month. While it’s usual to see prices rise at this time of year, the rise is smaller than what we’d usually see, showing that some new home-sellers are lowering their asking price expectations. This has resulted in house prices dropping by 0.8% when compared to the same period last year.
At a hyper-local level, we’re still seeing house prices climb in a number of areas. Average asking prices have increased in five of the 11 fastest areas to find a buyer.
As well as taking almost half the average time to find a buyer, Alvaston in the East Midlands has seen 13% annual asking price growth, while Kirkby in the North West has seen house prices rise by 6% when compared to this time last year. Meanwhile, average asking prices have remained unchanged in Eccleshill, Yorkshire.
What sort of homes can you buy in these fastest-selling areas?
Take a look at this home for sale in Alvaston:
AKS, Derby
Take a look at this home for sale in Fenham:
YOUR MOVE Chris Stonock, West Denton
Take a look at this home for sale in Prestwick:
Stonefield Estate Agents, Ayr
You can check how long homes are taking to find a buyer in your region in our monthly House Price Index. Or to work out what homes in your area are selling for, why not see how much homes near you have sold for.
The header image for this article was provided courtesy of Fenn Wright, Witham.
READ MORE: Check the current average UK mortgage rates
