Bristol top of the league for property sales - study

Property in Bristol and Edinburgh is sold in half the time of other less popular cities, according to a study.

The average home in either or those cities will sell in between 51 and 53 days of the first For Sale sign, research by Post Office Money Mortgages suggests.

Elsewhere, it takes around 91 days for a property to exchange hands.

People in Swansea or Liverpool typically have the longest time to wait, needing between 100 and 108 days respectively before they can put a Sold sign outside their home.

The research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) found that, with the exception of Swansea, where prices have been constant, property values throughout the areas have risen over the past year.

London's prices are still the highest in the land but it takes around 89 days to sell a property in the capital, longer than in Nottingham, Manchester, Leicester, Leeds, Birmingham, Plymouth or Cardiff, the study revealed.

That is about a fifth longer than this time last year.

In contrast, the time taken to sell a place in Edinburgh has fallen by 25% over the past year.

John Willcock, head of mortgages at Post Office Money, said: "House prices continue to rise across the country but eager sellers should remember that this might not be any guarantee of a successful sale."

The top-selling cities, with the average days of sale and the average price are as follows:

:: Bristol, 51, £252,107
:: Edinburgh, 53, £240,978
:: Glasgow, 56, £117,795
:: Southend, 65, £249,141
:: Portsmouth, 67, £190,579
:: Derby, 69, £144,543
:: Sheffield, 71, £148,551
:: Brighton, 72, £342,959
:: Norwich, 72, £190,883
:: Nottingham, 74, £122,772
:: Manchester, 77, £149,722
:: Leicester, 79, £147,914
:: Stoke-on-Trent (BSE: 500251.BO - news) , 79, £102,877
:: Leeds, 80, £166,303
:: Birmingham, 80, £159,732
:: Plymouth, 80, £165,442
:: Cardiff, 87, £189,419
:: London, 89, £472,204
:: Newcastle, 96, £154,477
:: Belfast, 96, £118,894
:: Hull, 98, £102,079
:: Swansea, 100, £133,458
:: Liverpool, 108, £119,933