It is officially the hardest time to sell your home in 15 years. Britain’s property market is creaking at the seams as sellers struggle to find buyers for all types of homes, ranging from the smallest one-bedroom flats to the biggest country mansions.

‘For Sale’ signs are being left up so long they are gathering moss, readers tell us.

The average time it takes to sell a property is at its highest since 2011 – at 75 days – figures from estate agent Hamptons reveal.

The number of properties on the market is at an 11-year high, according to Rightmove. And the listings giant says the number of buyers enquiring is lower than it was a year ago.

A combination of falling house prices, rising borrowing costs and ongoing political and economic uncertainties mean many buyers have put their plans on hold.

More than two in five homes put on the market in the past three years did not sell, data from Zoopla has revealed.

Homes of all sizes are sitting on the shelf, as homeowners struggle to climb the property ladder or downsize. On the first rung of the ladder, more than a third of one-bedroom apartments are now selling for less than the owner paid for them, according to Land Registry data.

The collapse in flat prices means many people who bought their apartments as a stepping stone on to the property ladder are now unable to afford a bigger home.

And many buy-to-let or holiday let investors have been chased out of the market by increasing taxes and tighter regulations.

Owning a second home, once a middle-class dream, has become a more expensive pursuit due to the doubling of council tax and a 5 per cent stamp duty surcharge.

Veronica Evans thought she would be living near her family in Teddington, south-west London, by now. But 14 months after listing her home for sale, she’s still stuck in Bournemouth.

The 91-year-old former nutritionist put her three-bedroom house – a large chalet bungalow – on the market for £725,000 in March 2025. She has cut the price twice in the past year, by £75,000 in total, but to no avail.

Veronica says: ‘I have two daughters, four granddaughters and a great-grandson. It would be nice to be near them all but nobody seems prepared to buy my house.

‘It’s the first time in my life I feel totally stuck. I have bought and sold seven homes and I have never experienced anything like this market. People always say my house looks lovely. Yet, despite being in a popular, quiet location, near the sea and every amenity you might wish for, it has not sold.’

At her stage of life, Veronica is in no mood to waste time. ‘I am very frustrated,’ she says. ‘I’m 91 and I could pop off at any time.’

Veronica blames government red tape and taxation aimed at second home owners and landlords for her current predicament.

She says: ‘A flood of houses have come on the market in my area, which hasn’t helped. A lot of them are second homes. We have some of the highest council tax in the country and now with second homes being charged double, lots of people just want out.’

Veronica says that continuing to cut the asking price is not an option either, as she is relying on her sale to fund her next purchase.

‘The buyers’ market, which estate agents are calling it, unfortunately doesn’t make it a happy time to be a seller,’ she says.

‘If I were to sell for £600,000, I wouldn’t be able to afford the type of flat I want in Teddington.’ Many are now having to wait months or years to move, putting plans, jobs and retirements on hold.

In a survey by Zoopla of 2,000 people who had listed their home with an estate agent in the past three years, 44 per cent said the property never sold. Of those, 34 per cent admitted in retrospect their asking price was ‘too high’.

Even those fortunate enough to find a buyer then have to wait many more months for their home to get through the legal process.

Once a sale is agreed, the average time to exchange contracts is 125 days, according to property analytics firm TwentyCi.

In some parts of the country, including the East of England, the South East and Greater London, that rises to around 140 days.

Property transactions are not binding until the exchange of contracts. This means many sales collapse after being agreed. For Yvonne McFarlane, 64, not being able to sell has prevented her and her husband from downsizing. The couple planned to move to Yorkshire to be near their three grown-up children.

They first put their five-bedroom house in Heathfield, East Sussex, on the market 18 months ago. They followed all the normal advice, inviting three local estate agents over to value their home.

Yvonne, a retired florist, says: ‘Each of the estate agents could not get round here fast enough. We have one of the bigger houses on our estate – and a large garden. They all said it would be snapped up in a matter of weeks.’

All three agents valued her home at £700,000 and the one she chose advised her to list at £695,000.

Once on the market, the flood of viewings she had been promised never materialised. Just a handful of people came to see the property.

Weeks turned into months. After almost a year of languishing on the market, they decided to cut the price to £625,000. The listing now says ‘Offers in the region of £600,000 to £625,000’.

Yvonne says they currently have someone who is interested in buying their house. The only problem is, they can’t sell their home either.

‘Our whole life is on hold,’ she says. ‘We need to move to be near all our children – it takes us six hours to drive to them. On our housing estate, there are “For Sale” boards everywhere. Some people are starting to give up and stay put, others are just waiting in faint hope. The boards outside homes have sometimes been up so long they have moss on them.’

Have you had trouble selling your home? Email editor@thisismoney.co.uk