Home moves face record delays
Thursday 3rd September, 2026
Almost three-quarters of recent home movers experienced delays, with the average move now taking 216 days from listing to completion across Great Britain.
This gives you a chance to explain the home-moving journey in the UK and highlight the need for clearer information and better visibility for consumers.
1 Source:
Why have we flagged this?
This national property-market finding highlights widespread moving delays, giving Rightmove an opportunity to share market data or expert insight on the homebuying journey.
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Thinking...
These are starting points for inspiration, not finished ideas.
Expert comment
Call for one owner of every home move
Argue that delays persist because buyers, sellers, agents and conveyancers each own only one part of the process.
Expert comment angle: Have Rightmove’s property expert tell consumer journalists that every transaction needs one clearly accountable coordinator, rather than more blame between professions.
Why: It offers a specific explanation for the 216-day average and a practical fix beyond blaming estate agents.
Newsjack
Create a plain-English home-move delay tracker
Publish a downloadable tracker showing each stage of a move, who owns it and what information should be shared.
Newsjack angle: Create the tracker within days and offer it exclusively to consumer property journalists covering the report’s findings.
Why: It gives frustrated movers an immediate tool while positioning Rightmove as part of the solution.
Data idea
Reveal the conveyancing questions movers search most
Show which conveyancing and solicitor-related questions people using Rightmove most often search for.
Data to investigate: Analyse your search query data to identify the most common conveyancing questions and present them as evidence of where movers lack clarity.
Why: It turns the report’s communication concern into a useful, human story about what people do not understand.