How Long Does it Take to Sell a House in Leicester?

Selling a home is an exciting yet challenging process. As a seller, you may wonder how you can sell your house fast and what elements will affect the process. To speed things up it’s essential to understand the Leicester property market. Numerous factors, including dynamics of supply and demand as well as property quality and price, can either shorten or lengthen the selling process. In this blog, we’ll give you all the information on property-selling timescales in Leicester.

How long do most houses take to sell?

The duration required to sell a house across the UK in 2024 is 185 days (just under six months) which has decreased over the past year, in 2023 houses took an average of 250 days to sell. Although this is an improvement, it can take up to 8 months for the full process to complete; including marketing the property, finding a buyer and completing the legalities.

Leicester property market

In Leicester, the time it takes to sell various types of properties has seen significant shifts over a year. Here’s a summarised breakdown of the average time properties spent on the market between October 2023 and October 2024:

• Detached homes: Increased from 126 days in Oct 2023 to 131 days in Oct 2024 (+4%).
• Semi-detached homes: Rose from 116 days to 128 days (+10%)
• Terraced homes: Went up from 111 days to 147 days (+32%)
• Flats: Climbed from 241 days to 280 days (+16%)
• Overall average: Increased from 140 days in Oct 2023 to 161 days in Oct 2024 (+15%)

As the data shows, the type of property makes a big difference when it comes to selling time. A semi-detached home will sell the quickest, whilst a flat will take almost twice as long. This is largely due to supply and demand, with families (who make up a majority of buyers) not interested in buying a flat.

Why are houses taking so long to sell?

There are several reasons why houses may take longer to sell, this is largely due to the economic climate in the UK:

Rising mortgage rates 

In recent years, mortgage rates have increasingly risen to nearly 6%. The prospect of significantly higher monthly mortgage payments has meant that many people are less interested in buying a new property or simply cannot afford to finance buying a house.

Cost of living

The ongoing cost of living crisis has made it difficult for many individuals and families to manage their daily expenses. As people grapple with increasing prices for necessities, it can become more challenging to save for a deposit or even consider purchasing a home.

Inflation

Everyday goods and services have become considerably more expensive with the high inflation rate in the UK. This is causing potential buyers to delay or even reconsider purchasing a home, as they are worried they may not be able to afford it in such a challenging economic environment. Many potential homebuyers are adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach, hoping for economic conditions to stabilise or improve before committing to such a significant investment as a home purchase. This can contribute to longer selling times for properties on the market.

How long does it take to sell a house once an offer is accepted?

You might think that securing an offer on a property means things are on their way to completion, but this is just the beginning. Now you need a solicitor to help finalise the sale. Their job typically involves handling property deed matters, managing local and water authority searches, investigating location-specific plans and reviewing environmental assessments. Ensuring you choose an efficient solicitor will mean this process moves quickly and smoothly.

Once this is all completed, contracts are exchanged, and at this point the sale is legally binding. If there is no chain and the buyer has the funds available, this should only take approximately 8 weeks. However, if there is a long chain, this timeframe can easily double or go even further beyond that.

Need to sell your house quickly?

Selling your house fast doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. At SellHouseFast.co.uk, we offer a quick and hassle-free solution to selling your house. With us, you won’t need to wait around for months wondering if or when it will happen. Our streamlined process removes the waiting, the uncertainty and the hassle.
For Leicester homeowners wishing to sell their property quickly, SellHouseFast.co.uk has the answer. We buy any property in any condition, ensuring a swift sale so you can move on with peace of mind. As we buy homes for cash, we give homeowners the ease of a quick transaction, saving them from putting their house on the open market and