The 10 quickest markets for home-sellers

The town of Carluke in Scotland is home to Great Britain's fastest-selling market, with properties finding a buyer in just 24 days on average. A further two Scottish towns are among the fastest markets, with Falkirk in second spot (26 days) and Larbert (27 days) in third.

At a national scale, it's taking longer for homes to find a buyer than we've seen in recent years. Right now, the average time to sell a home in Great Britain is 71 days: that's the time it's listed for sale, through to finding a buyer, and being marked sold subject to contract. This is 14 days longer than at this time last year, and the longest time we've seen since 2019.

While there's more activity in the housing market in 2024 than we saw last year, the longer average time to find a buyer shows that home-hunters are taking their time to find a property that's right for them, particularly with the increased choice of properties coming to market. This is also playing out against the backdrop of higher mortgage rates and affordability constraints for some buyers.

Our property expert Tim Bannister, says: "As Spring brings more optimism for movers, it's important that sellers consider that it's taking longer to find the right buyer than at this time last year, despite the market being busier. The quickest areas to find a buyer continue to mostly be in Scotland, and it's only taking two days longer than last year to find a buyer on average across Scotland, compared to two weeks longer on average across Great Britain, highlighting the multi-speed market.

"Sellers keen to find a buyer as soon as possible this Spring should work closely with their local estate agent, to price accurately for their local area," he adds.

Top 10 fastest selling markets

Area	Region	Average time to find a buyer (days)	Average asking price
Carluke	Scotland	24	£158,904
Falkirk	Scotland	26	£162,972
Larbert	Scotland	27	£231,293
Upton	South West	27	£349,756
Troon	Scotland	27	£186,595
Port Glasgow	Scotland	27	£124,417
Irvine	Scotland	28	£121,548
Wishaw	Scotland	29	£135,528
Bellshill	Scotland	29	£124,661
Denny	Scotland	30	£172,334

Where are homes taking longer to sell?

Some of the current slowest markets are areas that are close to the coast and were 'race for space' hotspots during the pandemic. Swanage in Dorset is the slowest market currently, taking 136 days to find a buyer, while St Ives in Cornwall is second (129 days) and Brixham in Dorset is the third-slowest market (119 days).

What does this mean if I'm thinking of selling?

If you're thinking of selling your home, it's worth looking at what's happening in your local area, to get an idea of how the market is performing, and any local trends. You can also get an instant valuation, for a quick estimate of how much your home could be worth.

READ MORE:The top 10 home sales hotspots

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