New research from estate agency Yopa reveals Brits underestimate the timescales involved in selling a home.

We’re a nation obsessed with property; after all, we spend 2.4 hours a week on average browsing property online even when we’re not looking to buy or sell[1]. But Yopa’s recent survey of 2,000 Brits[2] proves we’re not as savvy as we might think we are when it comes to the selling process.

Almost 3 in 4 people (72%) believe it takes three months or less from the moment a property is put on the market to completion – the final stage, when the keys are handed over. More than 1 in 4 people (27%) think it takes a month or less. In actual fact, the whole process takes around 130[3] days in faster-moving markets and up to a whopping 200[4] days in certain areas of the country. That’s almost seven months.

60% of Brits surveyed said they believed it would take six weeks or less from offer to completion, and 2 in 5 (40%) people think it takes a month or less. In reality, this stage of the process takes on average almost three months – 11 weeks[5].

The current rush to benefit from the stamp duty holiday before it comes to an end on 31st March 2021 means that the process is even slower at the moment. The high level of demand is causing backlogs at the conveyancing stage in particular.

The survey also revealed that almost 2 in 5 (37%) Brits believe it takes less than six viewings on a property before an offer is accepted. Yopa’s average number of viewings to offer accepted is 9, slightly less than the industry average of 10[6].

Brits are also optimistic when it comes to estimating how long they think it would take to pack up all their belongings for a move to a new home – more than half of respondents said it would take them a mere week or less.

Yopa’s MD Freddie Cornes says:

“From these figures, it seems a lot of people could be in for a real shock when they come to sell their home. These misconceptions surrounding the selling process are concerning, and proves just how important it is to instruct a knowledgeable local estate agent who can guide you through what can be a very stressful and drawn-out process. At Yopa, we believe it is our industry’s duty to help educate the public around buying and selling property, so we make it our business to offer a transparent service for a fair price. Our online tool, YopaHub, allows sellers to easily check in on their progress and stay on top of the sale.

“Perhaps if we as a nation were better informed, more people would be benefiting from the Government’s stamp duty holiday, taking advantage of up to a whopping £15,000 in savings. As it stands, hundreds of thousands of people could miss out as the window to benefit from the holiday narrows. If you’re thinking of moving, you really need to be looking to instruct an estate agent this side of Christmas to be in with a chance.”