A good barometer of an area’s desirability is how long it takes properties up for sale or to rent to go under offer — the so-called Under Offer Index. While this doesn’t mean the deal is necessarily done, it’s the first step in the process and, where this happens quickly, is a good indicator that a place is in demand.
New research from property portal, OnTheMarket, tracks the pace of the country’s lettings and sales markets, and has revealed where in the UK and London go under offer the quickest and slowest.
Speedy and sluggish sales
On a national level, the capital had the fourth-slowest market for property sales, with average transaction times taking 59 days.
However, this is significantly better than Blackpool, where, on average, sellers have to wait 74 days for their homes to go under offer. In terms of the hottest national markets, sales on properties in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne take just 40 days, in Bristol it’s 42, and in Plymouth (last year’s leader), it’s 43.
In London, the outer borough of Havering was the quickest place for a home up for sale to go under offer, taking just 44 days on average.
This area incorporates Romford and Upminster and is on the Elizabeth Line. “In our experience, Havering has been popular with buyers because it’s generally more affordable than some other areas,” said Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS chairman.
“Supply and demand levels there mean it is perhaps a little more straightforward to buy than other parts of London where there is a shortage of stock or historically high prices which are still prohibitive to doing deals.”
Second on the list was Bexley, just across the river, where homes went under offer in 47 days. Both Bexley and Havering are within the Thames Gateway, an area designated for urban regeneration.
The third-hottest London market was Waltham Forest, which saw sellers agree a price in 49 days. Waltham Forest includes Hackney exile hotspots Walthamstow and Leyton, and borders Essex.
New research from property portal Zoopla puts Waltham Forest top of their list of the UK’s fastest moving markets, with homes there on the market for just 19 days on average before selling for around £525,000.
The top three most desirable London boroughs are all in the north-east corner of the capital according to OnTheMarket.
Rank |
London borough |
Average time to go under offer (days) |
1 |
Havering |
44 |
2 |
Bexley |
47 |
3 |
Waltham Forest |
49 |
4 |
Barking and Dagenham |
51 |
5 |
Sutton |
51 |
Across inner London, where prices are higher, sales take far longer. The City of Westminster saw properties take around 79 days to be secured, almost double that of Havering.
A Zone 1 location and attractions that include Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament are no longer enough to tempt speedy buyers.
Coming in second was Westminster’s riverside neighbour Lambeth, which stretches down to Brixton and includes parts of Clapham and Kennington. Here, properties took 74 days to go under offer, while third on the list was Hammersmith and Fulham, another riverside area, where the average transaction time was 71 days.
“Buyers looking in central London and the more desirable parts of prime peripheral London often take their time — sometimes weeks or even months — to explore everything available,” said Nina Harrison of buying agents Haringtons UK.
“Many want to feel they’ve seen the full picture before making a decision, and it can take a while for them to feel confident that what they’re considering is fair value and that there isn’t something slightly better, with a more straightforward seller, just around the corner.”
Where’s ripe for renting?
In terms of rentals, the picture in the capital is more nuanced, with no one area dominating.
Bexley again scored highly, and was the fastest place for tenancies to be agreed, taking 20 days. Second on the list was Merton in the southwest, at 22 days.
This borough incorporates Wimbledon, Colliers Wood and Mitcham and is well connected with the Northern Line, District Line and Tramlink all passing through, making it the only borough that has tube, rail and tram services.
The third quickest borough for rentals was Wandsworth, where the average transaction time was 22 days. This area includes parts of Balham, Battersea, Putney and Tooting.
Prime central London again fared poorly, when it came to rental speed. Rental homes in Kensington and Chelsea, among the capital’s most expensive areas to live, took an average of 37 days to go under offer, while the City of Westminster had a 34-day average.
Making up the list was Barnet, where you’ll find Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon, and where properties took 33 days to be snapped up for tenancies.
Rank |
London borough |
Average time to agree rental (days) |
1 |
Bexley |
20 |
2 |
Merton |
22 |
3 |
Wandsworth |
22 |
4 |
Waltham Forest |
23 |
5 |
Islington |
23 |
“On the rental front, in Bexley it is a similar picture in that supply and demand rules apply, while it is also dependent on the type of properties available,” said Leaf. “Conversely, central London is proving the poor relation as inherent pricing is so high for historic reasons.
“This means sales and rental values will have to drop further for central London to move up the pecking order in terms of improving the pace of sales and renting.”
Nationally, Aldershot, Mansfield and Crawley had the best-performing rental markets with properties taking 16, 17 and 18 days respectively to go under offer. The slowest rental areas were in Liverpool (40 days), Oxford (38 days) and Nottingham (38 days).
“The rental market is still proving to be highly competitive in certain areas, with some tenants having to make extremely fast decisions,” said Jason Tebb of OnTheMarket.
“However, some local markets are much ‘hotter’ than others, underlining the importance of really understanding the market you are trying to rent in.”
