UK homes are taking 84 days to sell on average, nine days longer than last year, according to the latest data provided by Barclays Mortgages and Hometrack analysis of Zoopla listings data.

The new data, however, did reveal that the market is mixed across the UK, with areas such as Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Cardiff and Wolverhampton all showing improving market conditions.

According to the analysis, Scotland is currently the fastest property market to sell a home – with the research revealing it takes just over one month to sell a home in Edinburgh and Glasgow, 31 days and 39 days respectively – though Scottish homes were also selling about one week faster last year.

Commenting on the latest research, Barclays head of mortgages, Hannah Bernard, said: “The property market has many components to it which can make it tricky to navigate, especially for first-time buyers.

“We want to help our customers become more knowledgeable about the overall market and provide a guide for them to make the most informed decisions they can when deciding to move home.

“Our research not only shows the changes in the market over the past year, but also acts as a predictor to what we might be able to expect in the months to come.

“We value our customers and do our best to speed up the process to get them to purchase their new home as fast as possible. We offer speedy home mortgage applications, averaging 11 days to process.”

The Barclays data revealed the other locations with the most improving housing markets are Newcastle and Middlesbrough – where properties are taking 19 and 16 days less to sell compared to last year.

Further cities showing homes that are spending less time on the property market include Liverpool with 13 less days, Cardiff with 6 days, Wolverhampton with 5 days and Bradford with 4 days. The housing markets in Birmingham and Sheffield were shown to have remained mostly stationary.

In terms of areas showing slowdowns, homes in Derby have experienced the biggest increase in time spent on the property market, with properties in the city taking almost one third longer to sell compared to last year – reflecting an increase of 34 days.

Bernard added: “By looking at the time of sale, prospective buyers and sellers can have a better overall knowledge of the time it may take to sell their home, and where in the UK the changes are.

“Our aim is to make sure customers are confident in the decisions they make as well as aware and prepared for the financial implications associated with moving home.”

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