The median home goes under offer in 65 days
Published 2026-07-12 · data as of 2026-10-16 · by Flatscout
Across 500,524 tracked sales, the median listing reached Sold STC in 65 days — about six weeks longer than a let.
Sold STC (subject to contract) is the moment a sale is agreed — the listing's real 'gone' point, months before Land Registry records completion. Flatscout tracked the 500,524 sale listings that went Sold STC in the 180 days to 16 October 2026, from first appearance to that status. The result challenges the assumption that sales move an order of magnitude slower than rentals.
The headline numbers
| Measure | Days |
|---|---|
| Fastest quarter (25th percentile) | 31 |
| Median | 65 |
| Slowest quarter (75th percentile) | 145 |
A median of 65 days to agree a sale, versus 25 days to agree a let. The sale process after Sold STC — conveyancing, searches, mortgage — is what takes months; finding a buyer for a sensibly priced home takes about nine weeks. Note the survivorship in this framing: these are listings that DID sell. Overpriced stock lingers, gets cut (see our price-cuts analysis), or is withdrawn and relisted.
The fastest London boroughs
The quickest London boroughs to reach Sold STC in our tracked set are Waltham Forest (median 62.7 days over 1,566 sales) and Merton (63.1 days over 1,028 sales); the slowest with 200+ sales is Hillingdon at 117.5 days.
How we measured this
We measured the gap between Flatscout first observing a sale listing and its status changing to Sold STC, for sales agreed in the 180 days to 16 October 2026 within 365 days of listing. Sold STC is agent-reported and reversible (sales fall through and return to market — we track that too, as 'Relisted'). Our status checks can see the change up to a couple of days late, so the timings are upper bounds. Refreshed monthly.