Manchester property sales are now three times faster than London

Northampton, Coventry and Manchester are the locations where homes are selling quickest, according to our analysis tracking the speed of the property market. The three towns lie in postcode areas where sales are typically agreed in less than 36 days – three times faster than some parts of London.

The research is based on searches conducted during December 2017 using the EstateAgent4ME tool here on the HomeOwners Alliance website. The analysis looked at how long thousands of houses and flats were listed on a property website before being marked as “under offer”.

Seven of the 10 postcode areas where homes are changing hands most quickly are in the Midlands. These hotspots include Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Wolverhampton, Luton and Stevenage.

The analysis provides further evidence of a slowdown in the London property market, with four of the 10 postcodes areas with the slowest sales either in or close to the capital. Three others in this slower group are in the North East: Durham, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

Properties around West London are on average taking almost 108 days to go under offer – slower than any other postcode area.

Paula Higgins, Chief Executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said:

“Knowing how long a sale can take is vital intelligence for anyone trying to sell their home. Our EA4ME tool gives homeowners a greater understanding of their local market and provides new insights into the state of the national picture. On a practical level, if selling your home fast is a priority, it means you can find, compare and rank your local estate agents according to ow quickly they sell a house like yours.

“Speed of sale isn’t the be all and end all – but it can mean all the difference between snapping up or missing out on the home of your dreams. Our free website lets anyone selling their home see which estate agents in their local area have the best track records for selling homes most quickly as well as closest to the initial asking price, alongside other important pieces of information to help you make an informed decision.”

Fastest 10 postcode areas

Rank	Postcode area	Postcode	Average days to sell a property
1	Northampton	NN	30.6
2	Coventry	CV	31.3
3	Manchester	M	36
4	Swindon	SN	36.4
5	Birmingham	B	36.7
6	Bristol	BS	37.8
7	Milton Keynes	MK	39.3
8	Wolverhampton	WV	40.6
9	Luton	LU	40.8
10	Stevenage	SG	41.2

Slowest 10 postcode areas

Rank	Postcode area	Postcode	Average days to sell a property
1	London West	W	107.9
2	Llandudno	LL	99.2
3	London North West	NW	87.4
4	Durham	DH	85.3
5=	Twickenham	TW	84.9
5=	Blackburn	BB	84.9
7.	Middlesbrough	TS	83.7
8=	London South West	SW	81.5
8=	Blackpool	FY	81.5
10.	Sunderland	SR	81.1