Selling Margate Properties in 2025: How Long Does It Really Take?

Are you a Margate homeowner or landlord? Are you thinking of selling your home or property in early 2025?

Then, in this article, let me show you how long it will take, on average, to find a buyer for your Margate home and how long solicitors will take to get you moved.

Independent research from Denton House Research shows that in the last 12 months, looking at every UK estate agent’s 1,064,223 sales agreed and 816,299 exchanges, on average, it has taken 73 days from the property coming on the market to become sold subject to contract, up from 67 days for the 12 months ending in June 2024.

Then, it has taken 113 days from the sale being agreed to completion (completion is when the keys and monies are sorted), an improvement on the 117 days for the 12 months ending June 2024. The journey is a long one and not guaranteed as nationally, only 53.6% of UK homeowners who placed their homes on the market in 2023/4 have sold and moved (the remaining 46.7% coming off the market unsold).

Step 1 – Finding Your Buyer

The first step is to engage an estate agent (naturally, we’re here to assist) who will work with you to develop a pricing and marketing strategy tailored to attract the right buyer for your situation.

Recent independent data reveals that, over the last three months, a property in Margate has taken an average of 85 days to reach an agreed sale (Sold Subject to Contract). However, as I’ve discussed in my recent articles, the Margate property market is far from uniform; it’s more like a fly’s eye, with countless small, distinct micro-markets.

Reflecting on this independent research—which focuses exclusively on Margate—it’s fascinating to observe how these different price segments (or micro-markets) are currently performing when we look at the average time it takes to secure a buyer in the Margate area. The average time to find a buyer in the last 3 months in Margate for those properties that have agreed a sale on them is as follows:

• Under £100k - 118 days
• £100k to £200k - 84 days
• £200k to £300k - 73 days
• £300k to £400k - 79 days
• £400k to £500k - 112 days
• £500,000 to £1m - 93 days
• Over £1m - 187 days

Step 2 - Instruct Solicitors (and Mortgage Broker)

We can recommend top solicitors to assist with your Margate sale. As the seller, your solicitor will start preparing the initial legal documents for your property (with your input) and then forward them to your buyer's solicitor.

Step 3 – Legal Work and Survey

After receiving the paperwork, your buyer's solicitor will request local searches from the local authority or land registry to ensure no planned developments, like roads or airports, are impacting your property. These searches can take a few weeks to return, during which the buyer's solicitor may raise questions with your solicitor. Simultaneously, a surveyor will inspect the property to confirm it's structurally sound and valued correctly for the purchase.

Step 4 – Exchange of Contracts

Once the mortgage, survey, and legal work are cleared of any issues, both buyer and seller sign the contracts, leading to the "Exchange of Contracts" between solicitors. At this stage, the buyer pays a non-refundable deposit, legally committing both parties to the sale. But wait—there’s still one step to go!

Step 5 – Completion

Completion is when the money and keys are transferred. Typically, this takes place one to two weeks after exchanging contracts (although, since the lockdown, completion can occur on the same day as the exchange). At this point, the buyer's solicitor sends the purchase funds to the seller's solicitor, and once they are received, the keys are handed over to the buyer.

In Margate, it currently takes 85 days to find a buyer (Step 1) and 119 days from instructing solicitors (Step 2) to completion (Step 5).

Call to Action

In summary, you should anticipate waiting five to six months from the day the 'For Sale' board goes up to the day you move out.

If you're considering selling your home in Margate, or you’re a Margate landlord looking to sell a buy-to-let property with tenants in situ, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to have an informal, no-obligation conversation to help you secure a good price with minimal hassle. Drop me a message or give me a call.

About Cooke & Co

Cooke & Co has been providing estate agency services in Thanet since 1992, covering Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, and surrounding areas.

Contact us:

• Margate Office: (01843) 231833
• Ramsgate Office: (01843) 851322
• Broadstairs Office: (01843) 600911

Visit our website at www.cookeandco.com or email us at enquiry@cookeandco.com.