Selling a Property in the UK: Timescales and Formalities

If you are thinking of selling your property, you are bound to have doubts about how long it will take you to find a buyer. However, you have to remember that the selling process is not only about the presence of your property on portals with houses for sale, but also about the time spent on formalities. In this article, we will summarise everything and estimate how long the whole process of selling a property in the UK takes. We will also include some practical tips and list some potential problems that you may encounter when selling your property.

What formalities are involved in the sale of a property?

Property valuation

In order to sell a property yourself to another person (about using an estate agency later in this article), you need to go through several important steps. The first step you usually take before putting your house up for sale is to have it market valued. This can be done in a number of ways - and some of them are free:

• The first option is a quick online valuation. There are plenty of portals that can estimate the value of your home in a few minutes. On sites such as Zoopla or Rightmove, you need to enter the basic details of your property, i.e. for example the location, the number of rooms and the type of building. As you can easily guess, such valuations are not very accurate, as they do not take into account the actual condition of the building or, for example, upgrades. Rather, they are based on algorithms and databases, so the result may be slightly over or underestimated. However, there is nothing stopping you from using one or more such portals to get a general idea of the estimates - this can be a good foundation of knowledge before using a professional;

• A second option, which is more precise, would be to invite a local estate agent. Estate agents often offer a valuation service completely free of charge. However, there is one catch - the agent valuing the property will be trying to get a sale order from you. So if you are determined that you don’t want to use their services, you need to remember to be assertive. Sometimes it may happen that the agent will purposely inflate the estimated amount to make you more willing to order the sale. So it will be a good idea to invite several agents or possibly use a third way;

• Lastly, for a professional, independent valuation you can use a surveyor who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). This option is chargeable.

However, you should remember that it is your property and you can set the amount you would like to get for it, the so-called Asking Price. Of course, it should not be too high - when the buyer applies for a mortgage, the lender will usually carry out its own valuation of the property (sometimes a desktop or automated valuation without a visit). If it comes in lower than the agreed price, the buyer may struggle to get the loan they were aiming for, which for you may result in having to negotiate the price or losing a potential buyer.

The start of conveyancing

Given how large and binding the transaction is, most sellers and buyers instruct a legal representative. These can be:

• Conveyancer - deals with the transfer of property. Should suffice in most cases.

• Solicitor - a qualified lawyer who can also help when the transaction involves more complex issues such as inheritance or divorce.

Conveyancing is the name for the process of transferring ownership of a property from one person to another. The legal representatives of both parties communicate with each other to transfer documents such as title deeds or plot plans to each other, check the legal status of the property and agree the terms of the agreement. At this stage, it is worth investing in an experienced conveyancer to ensure that no mistakes are made with the title deeds - especially if the property has a convoluted history. Problems that can arise at this stage can delay the sale or even make the transaction impossible.

Second valuation and homebuyer survey

If the buyer is taking out a mortgage, the lender will usually carry out its own valuation of the property, which may be done remotely. This valuation is for the lender’s benefit and is not a survey, so the buyer can also commission a Homebuyer Survey, which is a report on the condition of the building. This will run concurrently with the conveyancing, so there is unlikely to be any extra time added unless there are issues. As in the case described earlier (where the lender’s valuation showed a lower amount than the agreed price), a building condition report can delay or prevent a sale because it may reveal previously undetected problems.

How long do these processes take in total?

The time needed to sell a property depends on the location, property type, length of the chain, mortgage arrangements and legal work involved. According to Rightmove’s July 2026 analysis, the average time from agreeing a sale to completion was 154 days (approximately 22 weeks) across Great Britain. The average was 174 days in London and 98 days in Scotland, where the legal process differs. Finding a buyer took an additional 62 days on average across Great Britain. These figures are market averages, not guaranteed timescales for an individual sale.

In England and Wales, contracts are exchanged at the end of conveyancing, and from this point the transaction is legally binding. Completion and the handover of keys follow as agreed between the parties. The legal process in Scotland and Northern Ireland differs.

Sale of property with a mortgage

You can sell a property that still has a mortgage: the outstanding balance, plus any early repayment charge, is normally paid off from the sale proceeds on completion. If the sale price will not cover what you owe (negative equity), you need your lender’s agreement, and the lender can stop a sale that does not cover the outstanding mortgage. Having a mortgage on the property does not usually make the sale take much longer - the main difference is the extra work for your conveyancer. Your conveyancer will obtain a mortgage redemption statement, a document from your lender showing the outstanding balance and any early repayment charge. This is called an Early Repayment Charge (ERC). It usually applies if you repay the mortgage before your current deal (for example a fixed-rate period) ends, and the details are set out in your mortgage offer. Your conveyancer or solicitor should also coordinate repayment of the loan from the money received. The redemption statement usually only takes a few days to obtain.

If you want to buy another one after selling your current property, it is worth considering mortgage porting. This means moving your current mortgage deal to a new property, and in some cases it can work out cheaper - for example if your current rate is lower than today’s rates, or if repaying the mortgage early would trigger an early repayment charge. Porting is not guaranteed: you normally have to apply again and meet the lender’s current lending criteria, and any extra borrowing may be on a separate deal at a different rate.

Use of estate agency services

It is very common in the UK to use an estate agency when selling a property. No wonder - this solution has several advantages and can make the process easier. An estate agent will do virtually everything for you:

• Will take professional photographs;

• Will list your property for sale;

• Will contact willing parties;

• Will negotiate the price;

• Will usually chase progress with the solicitors or conveyancers until completion.

Using an agent can be very cost-effective, particularly if you have no experience with selling property. For a sole agency agreement, estate agent fees are typically around 1.2% to 1.8% of the sale price including VAT; multi-agency agreements usually cost more.

How long does it take to find a buyer?

Estimating how long your ad will be on the portal before someone buys it is quite difficult. The response time of the market varies a lot and depends on very many factors, such as location, price of the property, condition, etc. Rightmove reported that in November 2024 it took an average of 62 days to find a buyer. Rightmove sometimes provides reports on where properties are selling fastest. In Rightmove’s November 2024 data, all ten of the quickest-selling markets were in Scotland. You can read more in our guide to buying a house in Scotland. We can read in the list that in the top regions the average time an ad stays on the portal is between 16 and 20 days. A really good result. Lower down we can see the top micro-markets outside Scotland and the average number of days is 26 to 32, so a bit more. If you want to see how quickly properties in your area are selling, it is worth doing some local research, for example on property portals.