The property analytics firm said this was 1.8% or two days longer than last year’s average.
Outer London and East England experienced the longest time, at 4.6 months, while Inner London came to 4.2 months.
With an average of 3.6 months to exchange, the North East was England’s best-performing region. Meanwhile, Scotland – which has a different legal system – had the shortest time in the UK, with 2.9 months.
TwentyCi’s research revealed that the total time to exchange has increased by one month since 2019.
| UK region | Time to exchange in 2025 (months) |
| Scotland | 2.9 |
| Northern Ireland | 4.1 |
| North East | 3.6 |
| North West | 4 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 3.8 |
| East Midlands | 4 |
| West Midlands | 3.9 |
| Wales | 3.8 |
| East of England | 4.6 |
| Outer London | 4.6 |
| Inner London | 4.2 |
| South East | 4.5 |
| South West | 4.3 |
Source: TwentyCi
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Average time to exchange has only been increasing
Katy Billany, executive director of TwentyEA, said: “Our 2025 data shows that ‘time to exchange’ continues to vary significantly by region, from around 2.9 months in Scotland to 4.6 months in Outer London and the East of England.
“This underlines how local market conditions and legal system differences remain major drivers of transaction speed. Nationwide, the average has crept up over recent years (from roughly 3.0 months in 2019 to about 4.1 months in 2025), confirming that the trend towards longer waits to exchange contracts is far from resolved.
“With many buyers waiting four months or more just to exchange, this extended timeline puts pressure on affordability, adds uncertainty for sellers and buyers alike, and magnifies the risk of fall-throughs, especially when interest rates or economic conditions shift part-way through the process.”
She continued: “In our opinion, the MHCLG’s consultation, focused on reducing transaction timelines and costs for buyers – especially first-time buyers – cannot conclude fast enough. As a group, TwentyCi has committed to Project 28, which aims to slash the time from ‘sale agreed’ to exchange from roughly 100-plus days down to just 28, a major step toward reliability, transparency and fewer failed sales.
“With this growing focus and industry momentum, we’re hopeful that steps toward meaningful change will begin to take shape as we move into 2026.”
Earlier this year, the government announced an ambition to improve the home buying and selling process, including the introduction of digital identification services and plans to share property data between professionals.
