Estate agents securing a buyer 14.7 days faster in 2022

The latest gauge of property market performance by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed that so far in 2022, the nation’s estate agent’s are securing a buyer in an average of 84.7 days, 14.7 days quicker than they were in 2021.

GetAgent tracks the average time to sell a home across the market in England and Wales based on the point at which a property is listed for sale and the point at which the seller accepts an offer.

The latest figures show that so far this year, it’s taking UK estate agents an average of 84.7 days between first listing a property for sale and accepting an offer. This is 14.7 days quicker than 2021, when it took an average of 99.4 days - a -15% reduction. 

When it comes to the best agent performance with regard to the quickest time to find a buyer, it’s the LA21 postcode in the Lake District that ranks top. Agent’s in LA21 are taking an average of 22 days to secure a buyer so far in 2022, the quickest across England and Wales by some margin. 

Not too far behind is Birmingham's B4 postcode where it’s taking an average of 33.4 days to find a buyer, with Greater Manchester’s M31 postcode ranking third at an average of 37.1 days. 

However, when it comes to the biggest reduction in the time taken to find a buyer in 2022, it’s the LL35 postcode at the tip of the Snowdonia National Park that comes out on top. In 2021, it took agents in the LL35 postcode an average of 306.8 days to secure a buyer. So far in 2022, this has dropped to 95.3 days, a reduction of 211.5 days in total.

Further south, the Welsh postcode of SA47 has also seen a notable reduction, with the average time to find a buyer hitting 106.7 days so far in 2022, 210.8 days fewer than 2021. 

COO of GetAgent.co.uk, Mal McCallion commented:

“Hats off to the nation’s estate agents, who have not only worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic property market boom, but in the vast majority of postcodes they’ve managed to secure a buyer at a quicker pace in 2022 when compared to last year. 

It will be interesting to see just where we land come the end of the year, as the landscape has certainly become trickier over the past few weeks. Last week’s hike to interest rates will undoubtedly drive a slowing of pace for the nation’s homebuyers, enabling the best estate agents to really show their quality.

While we may see demand levels cool somewhat, there should remain adequate homebuyer interest for those agents who can perform at the very top of the local markets. Those working hardest will continue to attract the nation’s focused buyers and sellers.”