Rightmove names hot-spot where homes typically take 16 days to sell

Rightmove has released market data showing that across Britain the average time it takes to sell a property has dropped from 87 days in early 2015 to 79 days now.

But one location - Dartford - is performing extraordinary well, with the typical home advertised on the portal selling in just 16 days: this time last year, it was 49 days.

The top 10 fastest selling hotspots outside London are dominated by the London commuter counties of Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire, with the majority seeing associated annual increases of over 10 per cent in the price of property coming to market. 

Asking prices in Dartford have jumped by 17 per cent in the past year, and the average 16 days is nine days quicker than anywhere else around Great Britain. Grays in Essex comes in second at 26 days, half the time it took at this time last year (52 days). 

Bristol, the most searched for place on Rightmove in January, makes an appearance at number seven, with properties selling in an average of 31 days, down from 47 days in January 2015.

The average time it takes to sell a property in Scotland is down from 97 days to 87 days in the past year, and in Wales it has gone down from 108 days to 97 days.

The data includes all properties that were changed to SSTC by agents during January, and measures the interval of time since they were first listed for sale on Rightmove.

At the slower end of the market properties are taking over 100 days to sell, with Darlington named as the slowest place taking an average of 132 days to find a buyer. St Helens comes in second slowest at 128 days, followed by Wakefield (120 days) and Bradford (119 days).