The typical time to trade within the UK is now 123 days or 4.1 months, knowledge from property analytics firm TwentyEA has revealed.
That is 1.8% or two days greater than in 2024.
The longest time to trade is in Outer London and the East of England at 4.6 months, intently adopted by Inside London at 4.2 months.
The North-East is the most effective performing area in England at 3.6 months, whereas Scotland with a special authorized system, is just 2.9 months – the shortest time of all UK areas.
The chart beneath offers a breakdown of the time to trade in every UK area for the yr so far.
| UK Area | Time to trade in 2025 (months) |
| Scotland | 2.9 |
| Northern Eire | 4.1 |
| North East | 3.6 |
| North West | 4.0 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3.8 |
| East Midlands | 4.0 |
| West Midlands | 3.9 |
| Wales | 3.8 |
| East of England | 4.6 |
| Outer London | 4.6 |
| Inside London | 4.2 |
| South East | 4.5 |
| South West | 4.3 |
The chart beneath demonstrates how the time to trade has crept up since 2019.
| Yr | Time to trade (days) UK | Occasions to trade (months) UK |
| 2019 | 91 | 3.0 |
| 2020 | 95 | 3.1 |
| 2021 | 109 | 3.6 |
| 2022 | 130 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | 121 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | 121 | 4.0 |
| 2025 | 123 | 4.1 |
Katy Billany, government director of TwentyEA, stated: “Our 2025 knowledge exhibits that ‘time to trade’ continues to range considerably by area, from round 2.9 months in Scotland to 4.6 months in Outer London and the East of England.
“This underlines how native market situations and legal-system variations stay main drivers of transaction velocity. Nationwide, the common has crept up over current years (from roughly 3.0 months in 2019 to about 4.1 months in 2025), confirming that the pattern in direction of longer waits to trade contracts is much from resolved.
“With many consumers ready 4 months or extra simply to trade, this prolonged timeline places stress on affordability, provides uncertainty for sellers and consumers alike, and magnifies the chance of fall-throughs, particularly when rates of interest or financial situations shift part-way by way of the method.
“In our opinion, the MHCLG’s session, focussed on decreasing transaction timelines and prices for consumers, particularly first-time consumers can’t conclude quick sufficient. As a gaggle, TwentyCi has dedicated to Undertaking 28 which goals to slash the time from ‘sale agreed’ to trade from roughly 100+ days down to simply 28, a serious step towards reliability, transparency and fewer failed gross sales.
“With this rising focus and business momentum, we’re hopeful that steps towards significant change will start to take form as we transfer into 2026.”
