The fastest and slowest property markets have been revealed by Rightmove, showing how different sellers’ experiences can be across Britain.
The fastest property market is Carluke in Scotland where it takes a mere 15 days on average to find a buyer.
At the other end of the spectrum, home sellers in some areas are finding they have to wait more than 100 days on average to go under offer.
The property market in Scotland as a whole is red hot at the moment, based on Rightmove’s data.
Across Britain, it is currently taking 60 days on average to find a buyer
The average time to find a buyer in Scotland is now 33 days.
Meanwhile, the East Midlands is the slowest market with the average home taking 67 days to go under offer.
Most of Britain’s slowest markets are near the coast, a hangover from the pandemic property boom.
Many coastal areas did particularly well during the pandemic as people rushed to relocate to more rural areas with locations along the coast, including Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, Devon and Northumberland doing particularly well.
However, a reversal of this trend has resulted in a glut of homes now for sales in coastal locations, with not enough buyers looking to snap them up.
Nine out of the ten slowest markets to find a buyer outside of London are coastal towns, according to Rightmove.
Property in the coastal town of Brixham in Devon is taking 118 days on average to find a buyer. It was in the spotlight earlier in the year after water contamination hit supplies.
In Skegness, Lincolnshire, sellers are having to wait 115 days on average and in Sandown on the Isle of Wight, they are waiting 109 days.
Falling out of love with the seaside: Nine out of the ten slowest markets to find a buyer are coastal towns, including Brixham in Devon and Minehead in Somerset
Unsurprisingly, most of Britain’s fastest property markets are in Scotland.
Rightmove says that all ten of the quickest locations to find a buyer are in Scotland, and all the current hotspots are selling faster than they did a year ago.
Sellers in Carluke in Lanarkshire and Giffnock in Glasgow barely have to wait more than two weeks on average for their home to be snapped up.
Douglas Nicol, director at Nicol Estate Agents in Giffnock, says: ‘The local market in Giffnock remains buoyant, with demand often outstripping supply.
‘So when properties come onto the market, we are finding that they are snapped up very quickly.
‘Giffnock is one of the most popular suburbs in Glasgow, with excellent local amenities, transport links and some of the top-performing schools in Scotland.’
Outside of Scotland, the suburb of Whitehall in East Bristol is the fastest property market with sellers waiting 25 days on average to find a buyer.
In fact, Bristol suburbs are clearly in high demand at the moment. In total free districts make up the top three fastest property markets outside of Scotland. The other two are Downend and St.George.
The suburb of Moston in Manchester also appears to be super hot right now with homes selling in 26 days on average. That’s 16 days faster than last year.
London: the capital of extremes
Central London locations such as Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Victoria are the slowest London markets to find a buyer this year, according to Rightmove.
A seller in the posh district of Knightsbridge where the average asking price exceeds over £4million, is waiting a whopping 135 days on average.
The property market in Knightsbridge is slow at the best of times, but the market is still 24 days slower than last year on average.
The London areas of Chelsea and Victoria are also slow with the average seller waiting for 100 days or more to find a buyer.
Again, price is likely playing its part, as both areas are all premium locations in London with fewer mass market buyers.
The quickest London markets are further out from the centre, with sellers in Walthamstow, Stoke Newington and Dagenham currently finding a buyer the quickest.
Sellers in Walthamstow only have to wait 32 days on average to secure a buyer, down by four days compared to last year.
Meanwhile, sellers in Stoke Newington are waiting 40 days to go under offer, down from an average of 50 days last year.
Tim Bannister, property expert at Rightmove, says: ‘In London, commuter areas such as Walthamstow and Dagenham are leading the way in finding buyers the quickest, likely driven by well-connected transport links and more affordable prices compared to central zones.
‘By contrast, more exclusive central locations like Knightsbridge and Chelsea are taking longer to find buyers, as these high-end markets typically move at a different pace.’
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