Moving home in Britain now takes an average of 216 days, or more than seven months, according to Rightmove, the longest period since its records began. The figures underline how delays in the conveyancing and chain process are making moving more difficult and uncertain for buyers and sellers.

Sellers take an average of 62 days to find a buyer and 154 days to complete after accepting an offer. London is the slowest region at 244 days in total, followed by the East of England and South East at 237 days each; Scotland is fastest at 127 days. Flats take 169 days to complete, compared with 149 days for terraced and semi-detached houses, while high conveyancer workloads, manual processes, searches and chain problems are cited as causes.