The time it takes to exchange contracts on a property purchase has risen to 135 days — 45% longer than in 2019 — despite a fall in transaction volumes, according to new analysis from Novus Strategy.

The data points to a growing disconnect between activity levels and transaction speed, with delays continuing to build even as demand softens.

HMRC figures show there were 79,880 property transactions at the end of January 2026, down 3% from 82,350 a year earlier. Yet the average time to exchange has increased by 3% over the same period, rising from 131 days.

Using data from TwentyCi, Novus found that exchange times have increased sharply over the longer term, climbing from 93 days in 2019 to 135 days today. Notably, transaction volumes in January 2019 stood at 78,830 — broadly in line with current levels — but completions were significantly quicker.

At the top end of the market, delays have become more pronounced. Properties valued above £1m have seen exchange times increase by 8% in the past year alone, rising from 136 days to 146 days, reflecting the greater complexity of higher-value transactions, including financing structures and longer chains.

When combined with the time taken to secure a buyer, the overall transaction timeline now extends considerably. The ‘time to sell’ — from listing to Sold Subject to Contract — has edged up from 82 days in 2019 to 86 days today. This brings the total average transaction period to 221 days, equivalent to around seven months and two weeks.

FRAGMENTED SYSTEM CONTINUES TO DELAY PROGRESS

Novus Strategy said the findings highlight deeper structural issues within the property transaction process, particularly around how technology is implemented and integrated across the sector.

While initiatives led by technology providers, government-backed bodies such as the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology, and organisations including the Open Property Data Association are seeking to modernise the system, progress remains uneven.

Efforts are focused on areas such as open data standards, digital identity verification, reusable permissions and upfront property information. However, Novus argues that without wider adoption of Horizontal Digital Integration — an operating model designed to connect systems across the ecosystem — these improvements will struggle to deliver meaningful change.

Claire Van der Zant (pictured), chief executive of Novus Strategy, said: “It’s disappointing to see that time to exchange is still rising, and this metric has been trending upwards for some time.

“It only confirms what we, and many others across the industry, have been saying for a long time, which is that the ecosystem remains too fragmented.

“All companies involved in the mortgage and residential sales market have faced increasing workload and regulatory obligations in recent years but technology has failed to keep pace.

“There is only so much efficiency to be gained from solutions that are not interoperable. There remains a huge amount of friction between these businesses when they need to coordinate and communicate with each other, in order to push a transaction forward.

“Data captured digitally in one organisation cannot easily be reused in the next, and what you end up with is a fragile digital journey even though individual solutions might be extremely powerful in isolation.

“This is precisely why the government saw the need for significant reform of the home buying and selling process in last year’s consultation, and why the recommendations cannot come soon enough.

“Progress has been made by brokers, lenders and conveyancers but largely in isolation. Each part of the market has developed its own customer journeys and digital processes, so the challenge now is for the industry to connect those parts together through HDI, solving problems like trust, interoperability and liability simultaneously.”

The findings reinforce ongoing concerns across the property sector that, without greater coordination and integration, technological advances alone will not be sufficient to reverse the steady rise in transaction times.