Any landlords wishing to sell up and quit the sector this Autumn will be facing a long wait for a sale to be completed, as the timescale from the acceptance of an offer to the exchange of contracts is now taking far longer.

Image credit: Pexels

This is according to an estate agent trade body as it reports that around 41 per cent of member agents have stated the average time of a sale is taking over four months to complete. This is the highest on record as in the pre-Covid average for July when  only 6 per cent of agents reported they were experiencing lengthy delays.

The trade body’s latest sales market analysis finds that the number of new buyers per member’s branch in July is still  comparatively low, and in the same month there was an average of nine sales agreed per branch.

A spokesperson for the trade body, says: “Our latest data shows a sharp spike in the number of agents reporting the average time taken for sales to complete being 17 weeks or longer. This, coupled with lack of stock and high demand in the market, is proving difficult for some first-time buyers or current homeowners as an existing mortgage in principle obtained before setting out to view a property will likely expire before completing on the purchase.”