Rightmove’s latest market figures show the price of property coming to market hitting a fifth consecutive record of £368,614, albeit only up by a modest 0.3% in the past month as the pace of price growth slows.

But the company also warned that a conveyancing backlog means that those who are looking to move this year and have yet to act will need to do so in the coming weeks as it is currently taking 150 days to complete a purchase on average after agreeing a sale, 50 days longer than at this time in 2019. 

This means that those who are hoping to complete a deal in time to enjoy this Christmas in a new home, need to agree a price in the next few weeks to give themselves the best chance of completing the transaction by the end of the year. 

Rightmove stated: ‘There are more than 500,000 homes that are currently sold subject to contract, a massive figure which is 44% higher than it was at this time in 2019, and 39% higher than the pre-pandemic five-year average.’