Best chance of finding a buyer over past ten years across all areas of Great Britain

• Nearly seven in ten homes (68%) across Great Britain have found a buyer in the current market, the highest percentage recorded over the past ten years
• On average just over half (53%) of properties up for sale successfully found a buyer between 2012 and early 2020, highlighting the strength of the market over the past year
• Scotland has the highest sales rate in Great Britain at 89%, while London saw the lowest with just under half (48%) of homes being sold
• The top ten places where people were most likely to successfully sell their home are all in Scotland, with the top three being Falkirk (94%), East Dunbartonshire (94%) and South Lanarkshire (93%)
• Outside of Scotland the top three are Sheffield (83%), Craven (81%) and Chorley (81%), while the areas with the lowest sales rate are Westminster (22%), Kensington & Chelsea (25%), and Camden (28%)

New data revealed today from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove shows that the likelihood of sellers successfully securing a buyer in the current market is at its highest point at any time over the past ten years.

The analysis of over 13 million listings tracked the journey of a property going up for sale to being marked sold subject to contract. Sales that fell through and went on to secure a buyer again were only counted once.

Across Great Britain, 68% of homes successfully found a buyer between June 2020 and June 2021, a jump from 41% in 2012, and the highest percentage in any year over the past ten years.

Looking between 2012 and early 2020, 53% of homes found a buyer on average, with the other 47% either being withdrawn from sale or staying on the market.

Scotland leads the way with 89% of homes successfully finding a buyer, compared to 48% in London. The next best performing area is Yorkshire & the Humber, with nearly eight in every ten homes, 77%, selling.

Areas at the top of the list are all in Scotland, with 94% of homes in Falkirk & East Dunbartonshire finding a buyer, while the bottom end includes high-end markets of London such as Westminster (22%), Kensington & Chelsea (25%), and Camden (28%).

Tim Bannister, Director of Property Data at property website Rightmove, says: “There’s been a much greater chance of a seller finding a buyer over the past year, which really highlights the sheer number of people who have been determined to move. While the long-term average shows that typically around half of properties sell, the increase in 2021 reflects the frenzied buyer activity we’ve seen in the current market, driven by multiple factors such as pent up demand and changing priorities. This efficiency in the market means agents are operating on limited stock, and they need more homes to satisfy all types of buyers. We’ve seen from previous research that Scotland often contains the most likely areas to find a buyer, and London the least, however the broader numbers are reflective of the trend we’ve been seeing all year, which is that buyers have widened their scope, and the popularity of every area in Great Britain is increasing.”

 

Sale rate across Great Britain

Region/country	% of homes selling June 2020 – June 2021
Great Britain	68%
Scotland	89%
Yorkshire and The Humber	77%
North West	74%
Wales	74%
West Midlands	73%
South West	73%
East Midlands	73%
North East	72%
South East	67%
East of England	66%
London	48%

 

Highest sale rate in each region/country

Local Authority	Region/country	% of homes selling June 2020 – June 2021
Falkirk	Scotland	94%
Torfaen	Wales	80%
Bexley	London	74%
Chorley	North West	81%
Darlington	North East	77%
Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	78%
Chesterfield	East Midlands	79%
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	74%
Weymouth and Portland	South West	78%
Folkestone and Hythe	South East	75%
Sheffield	Yorkshire & the Humber	83%

 

Top 10 areas for highest sale rates

Local Authority	% of homes selling June 2020 – June 2021
Falkirk	94%
East Dunbartonshire	94%
South Lanarkshire	93%
Renfrewshire	93%
East Renfrewshire	93%
Midlothian	93%
North Lanarkshire	93%
West Lothian	93%
Glasgow City	92%
Fife	91%

 

Top 10 areas for highest sale rates (excluding Scotland)

Local Authority	Region/country	% of homes selling June 2020 – June 2021
Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	83%
Craven	Yorkshire and The Humber	81%
Chorley	North West	81%
Oldham	North West	80%
Torfaen	Wales	80%
Bridgend	Wales	80%
Richmondshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	80%
Halton	North West	80%
Knowsley	North West	79%
Tameside	North West	79%

 

10 areas with lowest sale rates

Borough	Region	% of homes selling June 2020 – June 2021
Islington	London	39%
Richmond upon Thames	London	38%
Ealing	London	38%
Brent	London	36%
Hammersmith and Fulham	London	31%
City of London	London	31%
Tower Hamlets	London	30%
Camden	London	28%
Kensington and Chelsea	London	25%
Westminster	London	22%

 

 ENDS

Notes to editor

1 Analysis of over 13 million new listings that were added to Rightmove, calculating the % that were marked as under offer or SSTC. In each year the cut off date for new listings was March e.g for June 2020 to June 2021 the listings used for the analysis where added to Rightmove between June 2020 and March 2021.