The UK’s slowest-moving property market is Sunderland in the North East of England, according to HouseSimple.com.

The online estate agent said that 30% of properties currently for sale in the city have been on the market six months or longer, and one in seven properties have been on the market at least a year.

Liverpool (24.9%), Bradford (19.8%), Middlesbrough (19.8%) and Newcastle (18.6%) make up the five slowest property markets in the UK, according to the length of time properties have remained unsold.

The figures also showed that 12.5% of property listings UK-wide were at least six months old, and the five slowest-moving property markets were all in the North of England, with three of the five in the North East.

Fast movers

The fastest-moving property markets are Belfast, followed by Northampton and Reading. Less than 2% of current property listings in Belfast were at least six months old. While in Northampton and Reading, just 3% and 3.6% of properties for sale have been on the market six months or more.

In London 12% of properties remain unsold after six months, but there’s a huge disparity between boroughs.

Currently, 22.5% of properties listed for sale in the City of Westminster were first marketed at least six months ago, compared to just 0.6% in the borough of Waltham Forest.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “Across the fifty towns and cities we looked at, the length of time it’s taking for properties to sell appears to be falling. Eight months ago, when we carried out the same research, 13% of properties listed had been on the market at least six months. That figure has now fallen to 12.5%. Similarly, in London, we’ve seen a 1.8% drop since March.

“It would be foolhardy to say that the market has dramatically improved and that normality has been restored. In London, particularly, what we’re seeing is recognition from sellers that prices have cooled and that to secure a sale they need to be more flexible on price.

“And Brexit is definitely playing its part. No-one knows what is around the corner and there will be sellers who are keen to secure a sale while the market remains reasonably stable and are willing to negotiate with buyers who are in a position to proceed.”