The amount of time it takes to sell a home in the UK has jumped from 96 to 124 days due to delays caused by the pandemic.

This 29 per cent increase in the time it takes to exchange contracts is due to delays with property searches and conveyancers, leading to a backlog of cases, according to data from property sales intermediary Movewise.

The proptech firm adds: “That means any property that went under offer from late November 2020 onwards, will likely struggle to complete in time to beat the stamp duty deadline on 31 March.”

However, delays across the country vary.

The average time to exchange contracts, once an offer has been made in Scotland has lifted from 70 to 96 days, or 37 per cent. In the North East, this has moved from 87 to 115 days, or 32 per cent. In London, the time to completion is up 29 per cent, moving from 97 to 125 days.

Movewise analysed estate agency data on almost 500,000 property sales across the UK where contracts were exchanged over the past month and over the past six months.

Over the past month, the average time from offer to exchange was 28 days longer, or 29 per cent, compared to the past six months.

The firm says: “This confirms there’s a bottleneck in the conveyancing process as councils struggle to handle the level of property searches being requested and conveyancers drown under an increased workload.”

Movewise founder and chief executive Tom Scarborough adds: “Although houses are going under offer on average five weeks after initial listing, the bottleneck in the conveyancing process is causing a headache for both sides of the transaction.

“Buyers are still keen to beat the stamp duty deadline and sellers need to be aware of that before accepting an offer. To avoid transactions collapsing, any offer being made now should be on the understanding that completion is likely to be after the tax holiday ends.

“If required, buyers and sellers should enter into any negotiation on price, before the conveyancing process commences. An honest and frank discussion upfront, could avoid a transaction failing further down the line, after money and time has been spent on searches and surveys.”

Earlier this week, research by online mortgage broker Trussle said it currently takes an average of 134 days to complete a property purchase in the UK, as a result of delays across the market caused by the health crisis.