The UK housing market is moving at pace in 2022, with the nation’s estate agent’s securing a buyer in an average of 84.7 days, 14.7 days quicker than they were in 2021 - equating to a -15% reduction.
The latest gauge of property market performance by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has tracked the average time to sell a home across the market in England and Wales based on the point at which a property is listed for sale and the point at which the seller accepts an offer.
When it comes to the best agent performance with regard to the quickest time to find a buyer, it’s the LA21 postcode in the Lake District that ranks top. Agents in LA21 are taking an average of 22 days to secure a buyer so far in 2022, the quickest across England and Wales by some margin.
Not too far behind is Birmingham's B4 postcode where it’s taking an average of 33.4 days to find a buyer, with Greater Manchester’s M31 postcode ranking third at an average of 37.1 days.
However, when it comes to the biggest reduction in the time taken to find a buyer in 2022, it’s the LL35 postcode at the tip of the Snowdonia National Park that comes out on top. In 2021, it took agents in the LL35 postcode an average of 306.8 days to secure a buyer. So far in 2022, this has dropped to 95.3 days, a reduction of 211.5 days in total.
Further south, the Welsh postcode of SA47 has also seen a notable reduction, with the average time to find a buyer hitting 106.7 days so far in 2022, 210.8 days fewer than 2021.
Mal McCallion, COO of GetAgent.co.uk, commented: “Hats off to the nation’s estate agents, who have not only worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic property market boom, but in the vast majority of postcodes, they’ve managed to secure a buyer at a quicker pace in 2022 when compared to last year.
"It will be interesting to see just where we land come to the end of the year, as the landscape has certainly become trickier over the past few weeks. Last week’s hike to interest rates will undoubtedly drive a slowing of pace for the nation’s homebuyers, enabling the best estate agents to really show their quality.
"While we may see demand levels cool somewhat, there should remain adequate homebuyer interest for those agents who can perform at the very top of the local markets. Those working hardest will continue to attract the nation’s focused buyers and sellers.”