Home‑moving slowdown deepens as April breaks the 100‑day exchange barrier

Aneisha Beveridge, research director at Connells Group, said: “Transaction timelines have been edging longer for many years, but last month marked an important milestone.

“It was the first April on record in which the average home took more than 100 days to move from sale agreed to exchange, reaching 104 days.

“That’s around four weeks longer than pre-pandemic norms and nearly twice as long as the early 2010s, underlining just how much more drawn-out the home-moving process has become.

“Nearly one in five sales are now taking more than six months to reach exchange, compared with just five per cent a decade ago.

“In fact, for most transactions, it now takes longer to progress from offer to exchange than it does to find a buyer in the first place.

“As timelines stretch, buyers and sellers remain exposed to changes in mortgage rates, house prices, and personal circumstances for longer, increasing the fragility of agreed deals.

“Leasehold transactions continue to sit at the heart of these delays. A typical leasehold home now takes around 155 days to reach exchange – almost two months longer than a freehold property – and the gap between the two is the widest on record.

“More complex legal requirements and delays in obtaining management information mean leasehold deals progress more slowly and are more vulnerable to disruption, particularly in London and other urban markets where flats account for a larger share of transactions.

“Longer timelines also help explain why more sales are falling through later in the process. Almost a quarter of fall-throughs now occur more than three months after a sale is agreed, up from less than one in five before the pandemic.

“Leasehold and flat transactions are especially prone to late-stage failures. The added time required to surface issues means buyers often commit significant time and money before problems emerge.

“The implications extend beyond the housing market itself. When moves take longer and are more likely to unravel, households delay major decisions, labour mobility weakens, and confidence is eroded.

“Improving the speed and certainty of transactions – particularly for leasehold homes – isn’t just about making the moving process smoother; it plays an important role in supporting economic momentum more broadly.”