Scotland home to Britain’s hottest property market

Buyers looking to bag a property in Scotland will have to be quick, with homes in Edinburgh and Falkirk taking just 27 days to sell.

By Nicky Burridge

May 9, 2019 Zoopla

Edinburgh and Falkirk have the fastest-moving housing markets in Great Britain, with properties in the two locations snapped up in just 27 days.

Homes also sell quickly in Glasgow and Sterling, sitting on the market for only 31 and 32 days respectively before they receive an offer.

At the other end of the scale, the property market is slowest in Blackpool, where it typically takes 71 days for homes to go under offer.

Across Great Britain as a whole, it takes 56 days to match the average home with a buyer, according to Zoopla, which analysed property sales in Britain’s 50 largest towns and cities.

Annabel Dixon, spokesperson for Zoopla, said: “The key is to get your pricing correct, meaning the best way to sell your home quickly is to ask for its true value given the current market.”

Where do homes sell quickest?

Scotland takes the top four spots in the fastest-moving property markets ranking. Cardiff and Coventry, where buyers are found in an average of 37 days after properties are first listed, completed the top six.

Newport, in Wales, is in seventh place with homes going under offer after an average of 40 days, followed by Nottingham and Birmingham, both at 41 days, and Mansfield at 42 days.

Top 10 fastest moving towns in Britain

Source: Zoopla May 2019

Above: A three-bedroom semi-detached house in fast-selling Falkirk that's up for grabs at £239,995.

Which towns have the slowest sales?

While homes in Blackpool take the longest to sell at 71 days, London was hot on its heels. The typical property in the capital is listed for sale for 70 days before an offer is made, reflecting the subdued state of the housing market.

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is not much better, with homes taking 68 days on average to go under offer, followed by Hemel Hempstead at 65 days and Bradford and Reading, both at 64 days.

Bottom 10 fastest moving towns in Britain

Source: Zoopla May 2019

Above: A two-bedroom flat in Blackpool that could make an ideal first-time home or investment at £95,000. 

How do sales times differ across the regions?

Scotland, where the average home costs £192,147, has the fastest property market, with homes in the region taking an average of 42 days to sell.

The housing market is also buoyant in the West Midlands and East Midlands, where homes secured an offer an average of 46 days and 47 days respectively after they were first listed.

Properties in London take the longest to sell, at an average of 70 days, likely reflecting the stretched affordability in the region, with the typical property costing £659,660.

Sales were also slow in the North East at 67 days, followed by the South East, where a home is typically on the market for 61 days before it goes under offer.

British regions ranked by time taken to go under offer

Source: Zoopla May 2019

Which properties are most common?

The study also looked at which property types were most commonly sold in the UK's 50 biggest towns and cities.

Unsurprisingly, a two-bedroom flat was the most sold type of property in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Three-bedroom terraced homes were the typical housing stock in a number of towns, including Liverpool, Hull and Coventry.

But the most common housing type sold overall was a three-bedroom semi-detached home, which took the top spot in 30 locations.

Norwich was the only place where the most sold property was a four-bedroom detached home.

Top 3 takeaways

• Edinburgh and Falkirk have the fastest-moving housing markets in Great Britain, with properties snapped up in an average of just 27 days

• Blackpool has the slowest market, with properties typically taking 71 days to go under offer

• Across Great Britain as a whole, it takes 56 days to match a property with a buyer

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What's the fastest you've ever sold your home? Let us know by posting a comment below...