Slow to sell property locations across England

Property purchasing specialist, HBB Solutions, reveals that properties which are slow to sell by analysing all homes that have remained on the market for over 14 months.

Location is everything when it comes to selling a property. Where the property is can have a direct impact on the overall speed of the sale as well as the level of buyer interest.

In total there are around 9,263 slow-selling homes in England. It may come as a surprise that the largest proportion of these are in the capital where 2,643 slow-selling homes account for 29% of the national total.

On average these properties located in some of the lowest in demand locations are up to -17% below England’s average house price.

Which parts of England experience the slowest sales?

24% of England’s slow-selling homes are in South East England, while in the East of England 1,061 slow-sellers account for 11% of the national total.

In the North West, 862 slow-sellers were found and Liverpool was home to 164. 7% of England’s total were found in the South West, with 58 of them located in the local city of Bristol.

The West Midland accounted for 6% of the national total of slow selling properties, of which 52 are located in Nottingham.

The most common reasons for slow property sales

Properties can remain on the market for various reasons, but sellers who know what features buyers are looking for can reduce the chances of their home staying on the market for too long.

Overpriced homes are also more likely to remain stagnant and not leave the market soon.

Homes that are in poor condition, presented poorly, or need renovating often do not perform well. In addition to this, perfectly good homes that just happen to be in an unpopular location also may not benefit from quick sales.

HBB’s research also reveals that in an attempt to attract buyers, vendors often reduce the property value. As a result, homes that have been on the market for more than 14 months have a value of -4.4% below England’s overall average house price, selling for £291,361 instead of £304,867. 

Slow-selling homes with the most significant price reductions were found in the East Midlands (-7.1%), West Midlands (-7.0%), and Yorkshire & Humber (-4.3%).

Managing director of HBB Solutions, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “There have been moments in modern history where market and wider economic circumstances meant that demand for homes hit a worrisome slump resulting in many properties falling into the slow selling category. But today is not one of those times. In fact, it’s the complete opposite."

"Demand is through the roof with buyers competing with each other for, it sometimes seems, whatever they can find on the market, often resulting in offers stretching well above the original asking price."

"In such a hot market, it’s more likely than not that there is a good reason for a home being slow to sell. Its condition might be poor, its location undesirable, or even its price too high. And sellers can try and remedy all of these issues before trying again on the open market. However, improving the state of a home takes time and money, there is nothing that can be done to change the location, and even the simple act of reducing the price can be tricky because buyers may start to eye the property with suspicion - what must be wrong with it for them to resort to accepting less money?"

"That’s why, sometimes, if you’ve been stuck on the market for months on end with no signs of hope, your best option is to consider alternative routes to selling. Through homebuying specialists like HBB Solutions, you can be sure to get a fair price for your home and feel confident that the transaction will be completed very quickly indeed.”