Sixty Four Days to Find a Buyer, Then Another 150 to Complete

A home put on the market in Britain now takes 64 days on average to find a buyer and a further 150 days to reach completion. That is Rightmove's House Price Index, published 21 September 2026. Seven months, near enough, from the board going up to the keys changing hands.

The price line got the coverage. Average asking price £367,440, up 0.7% on the month and the first monthly rise since May, still 0.8% lower than a year ago (Rightmove, 21 September 2026). For anyone partway through a purchase, the timing figures are the ones that bite.

A market full of sellers

The number of homes available is at a 12-year high for the time of year, while buyer enquiries and agreed sales are both down 9% on last year (Rightmove, 21 September 2026). New listings were 3% lower, so this is unsold stock accumulating rather than a wave of fresh sellers arriving.

It shows up in how many homes sell at all. Nationally 61% of listings find a buyer. Scotland 91%, the North West 71%, the South East 56%, London 42% (Rightmove, 21 September 2026).

That London figure is worth sitting with if you are buying from overseas, because overseas buyers cluster there. Fewer than half the homes listed find a buyer.

Why a long transaction becomes a mortgage problem

A mortgage offer is valid for a fixed window, and the lender making the offer sets that window, not the borrower. On a seven month purchase the risk is not that the offer was wrong. It is that it expires before completion and the file has to be looked at again.

Pricing moves underneath it in the meantime. The average two year fixed rate rose from 5.09% in August to 5.29% in September, which Rightmove puts at roughly £180 a month on a typical mortgage (Rightmove, 21 September 2026). Someone underwritten in February on one set of numbers can find themselves re-underwritten in August on another.

What it means in practice

Supporting evidence has a shelf life as well. Payslips, bank statements, proof of deposit and identity checks all go stale, and a file rebuilt six months on is closer to a new application than a refresh.

From abroad it is slower again. Income in a foreign currency has to be converted and evidenced, employment verification crosses time zones, and certified documents take longer to obtain than most people plan for. On expat buy to let the deposit usually sits between 25% and 35%, and around 20% on expat residential, so there is real money committed while the clock runs.

A straightforward purchase still takes 12 weeks or more depending on complexity. The national average of 214 days shows how much of the delay has nothing to do with the mortgage and quite a lot to do with the chain above you.

Anything touching tax on a purchase, including the surcharges that apply to additional properties and to non resident buyers, is a question for a qualified tax adviser rather than a broker.

If you are buying from overseas this autumn, the conversation worth having early is which parts of your file will still stand up seven months from now. We are happy to have it.

Sources

• Rightmove, House Price Index, September 2026, published 21 September 2026
• The Intermediary, report of the Rightmove House Price Index, 21 September 2026
• Property Industry Eye, report of the Rightmove House Price Index, 21 September 2026