Part of our guide to selling your house for cash, fast.
A house sale has two clocks: the time it takes to find a buyer, and the time it takes to get from an accepted offer to completion. The second is usually the longer one.
The typical timeline in 2026
| Stage | Typical time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing to list | 1–3 weeks | Valuations, choosing an agent, EPC, photos, instructing a solicitor |
| Finding a buyer | About 2 months | Rightmove: 57 days on average in the North West, 64 across Great Britain (September 2026) |
| Offer to exchange | Most of the legal time | Searches, mortgage offer, survey, enquiries, contract |
| Exchange to completion | Often 1–4 weeks | Agreed between buyer and seller |
| Offer to completion (total) | Around 120 days | Government estimate, June 2026; Rightmove puts it at about 150 days |
In other words, a typical sale takes six months or more from listing to moving day. The government’s June 2026 homebuying reforms aim to cut around four weeks off the process and reduce the number of sales that collapse — it estimates one in three currently falls through.
What makes a sale faster
- A realistic asking price, so the first buyers through the door make offers.
- A solicitor instructed and forms completed before the offer.
- A buyer with no chain and their finance arranged.
- Freehold title with no missing paperwork — leasehold packs and missing building-regulations certificates are common delays.
- Quick replies from you to your solicitor.
See our 14 tips to sell a house fast and our guide to how long conveyancing takes.
Can you sell your house today?
Not in the sense of handing over the keys today. Every sale in England and Wales needs a conveyancer to check the title and transfer ownership. But a surprising amount can happen on day one:
- You can get a valuation, or an initial offer from a direct buyer, within a day or two.
- You can list with an online agent within days.
- At a traditional auction, the sale becomes legally binding on the day — but you’ll have entered the property weeks earlier, and completion usually follows 20 business days later.
When do Merseyside sales complete?
Across the six Merseyside boroughs over three years, completions were spread through the year but peaked in the autumn and dipped in January and April. March 2025 was unusually busy as buyers rushed to complete before the stamp duty thresholds changed on 1 April 2025.
| Month | Share of sales |
|---|---|
| January | 6.8% |
| February | 7.6% |
| March | 9.6% |
| April | 5.9% |
| May | 7.9% |
| June | 8.3% |
| July | 8.7% |
| August | 9.1% |
| September | 8.9% |
| October | 9.5% |
| November | 9.3% |
| December | 8.3% |
If you need to move by a fixed date
Work backwards. If you need to complete within three months, an open-market sale is possible but tight. Within six weeks, you’re realistically looking at a traditional auction or a direct sale. Our overview of every way to sell fast compares them.
How long each route takes
| Route | Finding a buyer | To completion |
|---|---|---|
| Estate agent | About two months in the North West | Several more months |
| Online agent | Similar to an estate agent | Similar to an estate agent |
| Traditional auction | The auction date — usually a few weeks after entering | Usually 20 business days after the auction |
| Conditional auction | The auction date | Exchange within about four weeks, then completion |
| Direct sale | Days | Set mainly by the legal work |
The legal work is the part nobody can skip. It includes checking the title, local authority and other searches, answering the buyer’s enquiries and, for leasehold homes, getting information from the freeholder or managing agent. Having your paperwork ready is the biggest thing you can do to shorten it.
Local selling times depend on your area — see local prices and options:
Common questions
How fast can I sell my house?
On the open market, finding a buyer typically takes around two months and completing takes several more. A traditional auction or direct sale can complete in weeks.
How long from offer to completion?
Around 120 days on average, according to the government’s June 2026 figures, though straightforward sales with no chain can be much quicker.
How fast are houses selling in my area?
Rightmove reported that North West homes took 57 days on average to find a buyer in September 2026, faster than the national average of 64 days.
Why is my house sale taking so long?
Most delays are in the legal stage: waiting for searches, mortgage offers, leasehold information, or answers to enquiries somewhere in the chain. Ask your solicitor exactly what’s outstanding and who is waiting for whom.
Sources
- Rightmove House Price Index, September 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK — Homebuying shake-up to slash delays, cut costs and stop sales falling through (June 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- The Intermediary — Rightmove September 2026 (time to complete) (opens in a new tab)
- RICS — Property auctions: consumer guide (2024) (opens in a new tab)
- Office of Fair Trading — The quick house sale sector (OFT1499), August 2013 (opens in a new tab)
- HM Land Registry Price Paid Data and UK House Price Index (Open Government Licence v3.0) (opens in a new tab)