UK housing market shows growing regional divide in sales speed

UK housing market property sales speed Zoopla analysis mortgage rates Scottish real estate

While the national average time to sell a home in Britain remained steady at 42 days in the year to July 2026, a significant regional divide is emerging across local housing markets, according to analysis by Zoopla.

Approximately half of the 363 local authorities studied—180 in total—reported an increase in the average number of days required to sell a property compared to the previous year. This trend is partly attributed to higher mortgage rates, which have prompted many buyers to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach.

Scotland contains several of the UK’s fastest-selling markets. Falkirk currently leads the country with an average selling time of just 11 days. Other high-performing areas include Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, and South Lanarkshire, which all see homes sell in approximately 13 to 14 days.

Conversely, some areas are experiencing much slower turnover. Melton in the East Midlands has seen its average selling time rise to 76 days, a 21-day increase from the previous year. In Scotland, Aberdeenshire represents the slowest market, with properties taking an average of 45 days to sell.

Entities

Falkirk · Melton · Richard Donnell · Scotland · Zoopla

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 2 SOURCES] Melton in the East Midlands is one of the slowest markets, with an average selling time of 76 days. thenegotiator.co.uk · www.standard.co.uk
[● 2 SOURCES] Higher average mortgage rates have encouraged a ‘wait and see’ approach among buyers. news.stv.tv · www.standard.co.uk
[● 3 SOURCES] 180 of the 363 local authorities analyzed saw an increase in the average time taken to sell a property compared to the previous year. thenegotiator.co.uk · news.stv.tv · www.standard.co.uk
[○ 1 SOURCE] Seven of the ten fastest-selling local authority areas in Britain are located in Scotland. news.stv.tv
[● 2 SOURCES] Falkirk is the fastest-selling local market in Britain, with homes taking an average of 11 days to sell. news.stv.tv · www.standard.co.uk
[● 3 SOURCES] The national average time to sell a home in Britain remained unchanged at 42 days in the year to July 2026. thenegotiator.co.uk · news.stv.tv · www.standard.co.uk

Sources

Regional gap grows as more homes take longer to sell - Zoopla [thenegotiator.co.uk]

25 days ago

Half of UK areas see increase in average time it takes to sell a home - Zoopla [todaysconveyancer.co.uk]

24 days ago

Time to sell a home increases across half of UK: Zoopla [www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk]

25 days ago

Homes in Scotland selling much faster than in other parts of Britain [news.stv.tv]

25 days ago

Britain’s fastest home-selling hotspots revealed by study [www.standard.co.uk]

25 days ago