What's changed about property sales timelines? Developers completing projects on schedule are discovering that current market conditions mean an additional 6-12 months to actually sell finished units—well beyond traditional planning horizons.
The UK now has the longest property transaction times in the developed world, taking 179 days from listing to completion – almost six months, according to analysis by the Open Property Data Association. Compare that to just 53 days in the US, making the UK a staggering 238% slower than across the Atlantic.
Even more concerning for developers: Rightmove reports it's now taking an average of 71 days just to find a buyer – that's over two months before you even get an offer. Overall, the average time to sell a home in Britain has reached 146 days, pushing many project exits well beyond original timelines.
The legal process has become the major bottleneck. Conveyancing now takes an average of 20+ weeks in 2025, according to multiple industry sources, up from historical norms. The problems are systemic:
Local authority searches – supposedly completed in 10 days – are now taking much longer. Recent data from Property Searches Direct shows the worst offenders are taking more than 25 working days to return searches, with 2024 searches substantially slower than 2023, rising from a 12-day median to 19 days.
Capacity constraints are everywhere. Analysis by conveyancing platform Juno found the average conveyancer takes over a week to respond to each set of enquiries, even simple ones, because firms have taken on too much work. Where there are property title issues, transactions take an average of 22 weeks, with 30% eventually falling through, according to the Conveyancing Association.
Buyer behaviour has fundamentally changed. According to Zoopla's latest data, buyers became increasingly price-sensitive through 2024, with average discounts reaching 3.6% below asking price by year-end, compared with 3.2% during the summer. The trend has continued into 2025, with buyers remaining cautious despite some improvement in market activity.
Fall-through rates remain high. One in five sales fall through, with recent weekly fall-through numbers exceeding the two-month average. For developers in property chains, the risks multiply: research by HomeSellingExpert found that with two houses in a chain, there's a 42% chance one sale will fall through; with three houses, the risk jumps to 56%.
These delays have real financial consequences, particularly for SME developers who typically operate multiple projects simultaneously:
Extended holding costs eat into margins as completed units sit unsold for months longer than anticipated. Portfolio contagion risk emerges when extended sales processes on one site tie up management attention and capital, potentially impacting delivery timelines and quality on other developments in the pipeline.
Cash flow implications can delay the start of subsequent projects, but refinancing options provide an alternative route to capital recycling. For smaller developers, a single project's delayed exit can create a domino effect across their entire development programme.
Seasonal variations have become more pronounced. Properties listed in February historically sell fastest, but developers completing in autumn or winter can now consider refinancing rather than enduring extended marketing periods that stretch into the following year.
The key is having exit optionality – projects that work for both sales and rental yields give developers maximum flexibility when market conditions shift, while protecting other projects from one site's sales challenges. UK rental growth has consistently outpaced house price appreciation over the past five years, with average rents rising 21% since 2022 compared to just 4% for house prices, making the refinance-to-hold strategy increasingly attractive even as rental growth moderates to more sustainable levels.
At Shojin, we've been factoring these extended sales periods into our financing structures for some time. While build programmes may target 24 months, we structure our facilities knowing that sales completion can add significant time to project exits.
The underlying fundamentals remain strong. The UK continues to face chronic housing undersupply, with government targets of 1.5 million new homes by 2029 nowhere near being met. This supply-demand imbalance means most well-located developments remain viable long-term – the challenge isn't project fundamentals, it's navigating extended transaction timelines.
Exit flexibility matters more than ever. Not every project needs to sell immediately upon completion. Where sales markets are challenging, refinancing with a long-term lender can provide an alternative exit route. With £32.6 billion in UK property loans maturing in 2025, there's substantial refinancing activity in the market, though lending criteria remain selective.
This dual-exit approach – sale or refinance – gives developers crucial breathing room. Rather than being forced into distressed sales during market downturns, projects can refinance to hold for improved market conditions or convert to rental income streams.
Our focus remains on developments with strong fundamentals – the right location, pricing, and developer track record matter whether exiting via sale or refinance. The key is having the financial structure and due diligence process to weather extended sales periods without compromising project viability.
For developers, the message is clear: plan for extended sales periods, maintain adequate cash reserves, and choose finance partners who understand that successful projects need flexible exit strategies – not just speed to market.
The exit problem isn't going away soon. In a market where conveyancers are identified as "a definite culprit" in delays due to unchanged legal processes from decades past, developers who factor realistic sales timelines into their planning will have a significant advantage.
But the extended timelines don't change the fundamental equation: the UK needs more housing, and well-located developments will find buyers eventually. The winners will be those who structure their financing to navigate the process, not fight it.