Almost half the people in the UK underestimate the amount of time it will take to sell their houses, according to new research…

The survey showed that 48 per cent of those questioned thought they would be able to sell their homes within three months.

In reality, according to the National Association of Estate Agents, the average time taken to sell is around 16 weeks. Six months ago, it was 17 weeks from instruction to completion.

Jim Akin, director of homebuying specialists UK Property Bank, who commissioned the survey, said: “The survey demonstrates that a significant number of people in Britain underestimate the time it will take to sell their property.

“The average time to sell of 16 weeks, reported by the NAEA, masks the reality in different parts of the housing sector.

Vast differences across the UK

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said recently that there are vast differences in the residential housing market across the UK.

“The national average figure includes statistics from London and the Home Counties, where almost all commentators agree there is a serious shortage of property for sale – the lowest level in a decade – and houses put up at a sensible price are snapped up within days.

“This is certainly not the situation outside London and the Home Counties so the time to sell in the regions is invariably longer than the average quoted by the NAEA.”

NAEA statistics for the early part of this year showed that, on average, 43 per cent of house sales are agreed within one month of property being put on sale, and 48 per cent of completions take a further two to three months.

Completion taking ‘longer and longer’

However, a significant number of vendors are taking longer to sell their properties, with 13 per cent of sales taking between three and four months to complete after a sale has been agreed.

The difference between the average asking price and the selling price was 3.1 per cent, according to the NAEA statistics, which also reported that almost nine per cent of sales fell through in November and almost seven per cent the following month.

This is perhaps explained, say the Association, by the fact that those who agreed sales in the autumn were more committed and prepared to deal with the logistics of a house move during the festive period.

Mr Akin said: “There is nothing worse than having a sale fall through close to completion. It sets everybody back, right through the chains of buyers and sellers.”