No two transactions ever move at the same pace. Some eat into your time while others sail through to completion with no issues. Our analysts took to comparing the average completion timescales, that is, the time between Sold Subject To Contract to Completion. The aim is to give you a better understanding of just how long your law firm spends working on cases. We set out to find out whether current fee structures reflect the time and complexity involved in today’s transactions.

We focused on four key variables:

• Tenure
• Property type
• Property price
• Number of bedrooms

Lengthy Leaseholds

No one needs reminding that a leasehold property takes longer to transact than a freehold. Our analysts found that on average, it takes over 18 days longer, at 159 days, for a leasehold to transact compared to nearly 141 days for a freehold. The added complications of a leasehold include additional searches, checking the ground rent and service charge, liaising with the leaseholder and so on. Most conveyancers already charge a premium for leasehold properties because of this added workload.

Now knowing that it’s taking your law firm an extra 18 days on average to transact, the question is, are you charging enough? Many conveyancers only add on a couple of hundred pounds’ levy. This is unlikely to cover all those extra hours of work your solicitors are spending on these cases.

To look at the average UK cost, Really Moving’s Price Index shows that the conveyancing purchase cost of a freehold in September 2025 was £1408.26 and for a leasehold, this was £1,774.34. That’s only an additional £366.08 and not nearly enough to cover those extra 18 days. (It is a similar difference for the sale of a leasehold compared to a freehold at £366.55.)

Pricey Properties

Many conveyancers increase their prices in increments based on the value of the property. This is to reflect higher properties being a greater financial risk. Any errors could lead to significant financial losses for the law firm, so more time is required to spend reviewing the documents thoroughly. Higher value properties can also come with more complicated title issues such as restrictive covenants, easements or rights of way. Additional searches may also be required for historical higher-priced properties. PI insurers also often set premiums based on the value of transactions handled by the conveyancer.

Is this increased cost for higher-priced properties warranted? Well, yes, actually, as the Time to Complete did increase as the price of the property rose. A property priced up to £200,000 takes 136.4 days compared to 148 days for those priced between £750,000 to £1 million (a rise of 11.6 days). However, interestingly, transaction length for properties priced over £1 million buck the trend and transact in 139.4 days on average, a closer timescale to those properties below £350,000! It could be that those properties are bought by cash buyers, so cutting the lender out of the transaction avoids any mortgage delays. Chains are also often shorter for high-end properties, which reduces those chain friction delays. Some high-net-worth individuals also have private solicitors who can further accelerate the process.

Bedroom Benchmarks

We know that leaseholds take longer, so it makes sense that studios and one-bedrooms (which tend to be flats rather than houses) have the longest transaction timescales at 150.8 days for studios and 152 days for one-beds. We also know that higher-priced properties (aside from those over £1 million) take longer to transact, so it also correlates that those properties with more bedrooms are slower at completing. Properties with five or more bedrooms took 144.1 days compared to just 137.5 days for three-beds, a difference of 6.6 days. The most common property type for the UK is the three-bed, so it’s good news for all that this is the fastest property to transact overall.

Property Type Patterns

As expected, flats take the longest to transact at 154 days, thanks to leasehold complications. Terraced houses are the quickest to reach completion at nearly 137 days. The slowest house type is the detached house at 140.4 days, and this could potentially be because these are higher cost and likely to be part of longer chains. Conveyancers typically do not charge various prices based on property type, but it is food for thought to find out that the detached property takes 3.5 days longer than a terraced house.

Conclusion

Conveyancers have been undercharging for some time now. (We’ve written a whole blog on why you should be charging higher fees. Give it a read here.) Clients complain about how long the process takes without having much of an idea of what is involved. Be transparent from the outset on how long the conveyancing process takes. Similarly, be upfront on why you’re charging more for leaseholds and higher-priced properties. When you explain the level of added work that goes into these transactions, your clients will be more receptive to paying a higher price.

Having insight into completion timescales should help you to better price your service and justify your pricing to clients. You can also set expectations early in the process on how long the transaction will take. If you’re interested in knowing your own law firm’s completion timescales, we can help. Our conveyancing software, Convey Insights, can tell you how fast you transact. You can compare this with the national average and the timescales of your competitors. Give us a call if you’d like a demo!