The Charlbury group has shown there a regional disparity in how long it takes repossessed houses to sell.

The firm, which runs the Arrears Management System which lenders use to instruct suppliers in the arrears process, has revealed that repossessed houses in Wales and the West midlands take almost twice as long to sell as those in the south east.

In comparison, properties in the South East sell the fastest, taking an average 125 days.

Scotland is in second place with sales taking 126 days and East Midlands and East Anglia combined in third place (128 days).

Northern Ireland (132 days), and Wales and the West Midlands (141 days) follow but it is in the South West and North where you’ll be waiting longest with 156 and 168 days respectively.

Dave Ford, director at The Charlbury Group, said: “”This information provides an interesting snapshot of the regional variation in selling repossessed properties.

“This type of information provides lenders with a realistic expectation of timeframes and can help craft regional arrears strategies and manage the expectations of everyone in the process.”