Estate agents in Manchester agreed 925 offers in the first half of 2026, at a median of 22 days from listing to agreed offer. Agents in Nottingham agreed 1,407, at a median of 42 days. Same six months, same national market, one taking almost twice as long to get a seller to yes.
The busier city was the slower one, and that is the useful part. Whatever is holding Nottingham at 42 days against a UK median of 35, it isn’t that its agents are handling too much work. The figures come from Alto’s Speed of Sale Index, built from more than 70,000 agreed offers between 1 January and 11 June 2026, using live transaction data from roughly a third of UK estate agents.
In this blog, we take a closer look at what separates the fastest-selling agencies from the slowest, which property types are moving quickest, and how to work out where your own time to agreed offer is going.
Busy agencies aren’t slow agencies
The ten fastest cities in the Index include Worcester, where agents agreed 52 offers at a median of 16 days, and Manchester, where they agreed 925 at 22 days. The ten slowest include Wakefield, with 177 agreed offers at 63 days, and Nottingham, with 1,407 at 42 days.
Volume and speed don’t move together in either direction. Cities with high agreed-offer counts sit near the top of the table and near the bottom, and so do quiet ones. On this data, being busy doesn’t slow an agency down, and being quiet doesn’t speed one up.
That matters, because being too busy is the most common explanation given for a lengthening time to offer, and these figures don’t support it. Holding a 22-day median across 925 agreed offers, as Manchester’s agents did, is a harder job than holding 11 days across 164. If you want to know how to sell houses faster, the cities worth studying are the ones near the top of the table with real volume behind them.
Which type of home is selling fastest in 2026?
Terraced and semi-detached houses are selling fastest in 2026, both reaching an agreed offer in a median of 26 days. Bungalows take 38 days, flats 39 and detached houses 41. The figures cover agreed offers between 1 January and 11 June 2026.
| Rank | Property type | Days to agreed offer in 2026 | Change since 2024 | Change since 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Terraced house | 26 days | +3 days | +2 days |
| =1 | Semi-detached house | 26 days | No change | +1 day |
| 2 | Bungalow | 38 days | -2 days | No change |
| 3 | Flat | 39 days | +10 days | +6 days |
| 4 | Detached house | 41 days | No change | No change |
Analysis: How demand and sales speed differs across property types
Terraced and semi-detached houses are the fastest-selling property types in the UK in 2026, both reaching an agreed offer in a median of 26 days. They’re also the most commonly sold, each accounting for around 24% of agreed offers in Alto’s data.
That combination of speed and volume suggests there’s a broad pool of buyers for these types of homes. Affordability is likely to play a part, with terraced and semi-detached houses typically accessible to more buyers than larger detached properties.
Detached houses account for 20% of agreed offers, making them the third most commonly sold property type, but they take a median of 41 days to reach one. Their typically higher price point may narrow the pool of buyers who can afford them, so finding the right buyer can take longer even though plenty of detached homes are changing hands.
Selling times for detached and semi-detached homes have also changed very little since 2024, but elsewhere in the market, the picture is quite different…
Flats are taking a third longer to sell in 2026
Flats have seen the clearest slowdown of the main property types in Alto’s data. They took a median of 29 days to reach an agreed offer in the first half of 2024, rising to 33 days in 2025 and 39 days in 2026. That means flats are now taking around a third longer to sell than they were two years ago.
In June, Zoopla’s House Price Index revealed that more than two-thirds of 1 and 2-bedroom flats listed in 2026 were still unsold, with first-time buyers particularly exposed to higher borrowing costs. In May, the Zoopla House Price Index showed that, outside London, 53% of first-time buyer enquiries are now for 3-bedroom houses, which could be drawing some demand away from smaller properties.
So why are flats taking longer to sell in 2026? Flats come with considerations that houses often don’t, including lease length, service charges and ground rent. These extra costs and commitments can add more to weigh up before making an offer, particularly when affordability is already stretched.
Location changes how quickly homes sell
Property type is only part of the picture. How quickly a home sells also varies considerably depending on where it is, which means the national figures won’t always match what agents are seeing in their own market.
Glasgow is a good example. While flats take a median of 39 days to reach an agreed offer nationally, they take just 12 days in Glasgow. In fact, Glasgow is currently the fastest-selling UK city overall according to Alto’s Speed of Sale Index, with a median of 11 days from listing to agreed offer, compared with a UK median of 35 days.
Of course, agents can only influence part of the picture. Local demand, available stock and how a property is priced all affect how quickly it finds a buyer. The Glasgow figures show just how much those local market conditions can change the pace.
Agents, buyers and vendors can all use the Speed of Sale Index to check selling times in their own area. Check selling times in your area.
What the fastest-selling agencies appear to do differently
The Index measures outcomes, not behaviour, so what follows is inference rather than proof. Three patterns line up with what the data shows, and all three sit inside an agency’s control.
They price to launch, not to win the instruction
The price that wins an instruction and the price that finds a buyer aren’t always the same number. Rightmove’s national data for June 2026 shows homes that needed a price cut spent an average of 127 days on the market, against 36 days for those that didn’t. Most slow sales launched too high.
They create demand before the board goes up
Faster agencies tend to have buyers waiting before a listing goes live, through applicant matching, a mailshot to the right part of the database, or a few viewings booked in advance. The property launches into demand that already exists, and early feedback lands while the price can still change quietly.
They treat the agreed offer as the halfway point
Glasgow’s consistency is the tell. Every main property type in the city moves at roughly the same pace, and has done for three years. At that speed there is no room for a step that slips: Anti-Money Laundering checks, the memorandum of sale, instructing solicitors and chain updates all happen in days.
Why a fast market finds a weak process first
A slow market hides gaps in a process by giving them somewhere to sit. A fast one doesn’t. When a property agrees an offer in 22 days, a compliance check waiting in someone’s inbox or a chain update nobody sent is the difference between a completed sale and a fall-through.
Most agencies are also running a lettings book through the same team, and often the same system, where the same pressure shows up as certificates, rent reviews and renewal dates. A sales pipeline that only holds together when nothing goes wrong has the same weakness as property management that can’t show what’s due without someone checking by hand.
How agents can use speed of sale data to price and manage listings
The Speed of Sale Index gives agents a clear, easy way to understand what’s normal in their local market and be better placed to price properties accurately and manage seller expectations.
Property type adds useful context. A flat and a terraced house in the same area may attract different levels of demand, so looking at both location and property type can give agents a better benchmark than relying on a national figure alone.
It can also help flag listings that need attention. If comparable homes are reaching agreed offers much sooner, it may be time to look again at the asking price, viewing feedback or how the property is being marketed.
Whether properties are taking longer to find a buyer or moving quickly in a high-volume market, Alto is estate agency software that helps agents manage listings well and grow with confidence. It gives you one place to run sales, lettings and property management, with built-in AI that helps you spot what needs attention and act sooner.
What this data can’t tell you
Process is only part of the answer, and the table isn’t a league table of agency performance. Local demand, stock mix, average price point and chain length all shape how quickly homes sell. Scotland’s conveyancing system, where a home report is prepared before a property goes to market, is a structural reason Glasgow sits where it does.
Sample size matters too. Glasgow’s 11-day median rests on 164 agreed offers, while Manchester’s 22 days rests on 925. A median describes the typical sale, not the spread around it. The fair reading is that this data shows speed is achievable on high volume, not that process alone explains the gap between one city and the next.
Checklist: How to assess your agency’s speed of sale
The Speed of Sale Index gives you an external benchmark for your local market, but your own agency data can tell you much more about what’s happening between instruction and agreed offer.
Keeping track of a few key metrics can help you understand where listings are progressing well and where they may need attention.
Alto estate agent CRM gives you the data to track these metrics, while Alto IQ lets you ask questions about your pipeline in plain English to quickly see what’s performing well and where listings may need attention.
Here’s what to look at when assessing speed of sale across your agency:
Time to first viewing
How long does it take a new listing to generate its first viewing? If that figure starts to rise, it could be an early sign to review the price, marketing or how the property is being matched to applicants.
Viewing activity and feedback
Track viewings per listing and the feedback that follows. Lots of viewings but few offers can point to issues with price or the property itself, while low viewing numbers may suggest the listing isn’t attracting enough buyer interest.
Viewing-to-offer conversion
Work out what percentage of viewings lead to an offer, then track it over time and across branches. A falling conversion rate can be a useful signal to dig into pricing, buyer feedback or how well applicants are being matched to properties.
Price reductions
Track the percentage of listings that need a price reduction before reaching an agreed offer, and how long they’ve been live before the price changes. This can show you whether your asking prices are drifting away from what buyers are willing to pay.
Time to agreed offer
Track your agency’s median time from listing to agreed offer, then compare it over time, across branches and against the Speed of Sale Index for your area. A widening gap can help you reassess your marketing and pricing.
Try the Speed of Sale Index
How fast are properties selling near you? Enter your postcode into the Speed of Sale Index to find out.
FAQs
What type of property sells fastest in the UK?
Terraced and semi-detached houses are the fastest-selling mainstream property types in the UK in 2026. Both reach an agreed offer in a median of 26 days, based on Alto transaction data from 1 January to 11 June 2026.
Why are flats taking longer to sell in 2026?
Flats are taking a median of 39 days to reach an agreed offer in 2026, up from 29 days in the same period of 2024. Higher borrowing costs may be affecting demand from first-time buyers, while costs and considerations such as service charges, ground rent and lease length can give buyers more to weigh up before making an offer.
Does property type affect how long a home takes to sell?
Yes. Alto’s data shows clear differences in selling times by property type. Terraced and semi-detached houses reach an agreed offer in a median of 26 days in 2026, compared with 38 days for bungalows, 39 days for flats and 41 days for detached houses. Location, pricing and local demand also affect how quickly a home sells.
How long do homes take to sell in my area?
You can check your own town or city using Alto’s Speed of Sale Index. Enter your location to see the median time homes take to reach an agreed offer where you live, based on Alto’s live transaction data.
What metrics should estate agents track to measure speed of sale?
Start with your median time from listing to agreed offer, then track time to first viewing, viewing-to-offer conversion, viewing activity and price reductions. Alto Reporting helps you track performance across your agency, while Alto IQ lets you ask questions about your data in plain English to quickly spot where listings may need attention.
Do busier estate agencies take longer to agree offers?
Not according to Alto’s data. Cities with high agreed-offer volumes appear among both the fastest and the slowest in the Speed of Sale Index. Manchester’s agents held a median of 22 days across 925 agreed offers, while Nottingham’s took 42 days across 1,407. Volume and speed don’t move together in either direction.
What is a good time to agreed offer for an estate agency?
The UK median is 35 days, based on more than 70,000 agreed offers between 1 January and 11 June 2026. Your local median in the Speed of Sale Index is a fairer benchmark than the national figure, because city medians range from 11 days in Glasgow to 63 days in Wakefield.
