THREE North-East areas have been named in the UKs top 10 places where it takes the longest to sell a home.

A study commissioned by OnlineMortgageAdvisor, has looked into how long homes remain on the market after being listed across the UK.

It has analysed Post Office Money Mortgages data and listings posted on property website, Rightmove, to reveal how long homes stay on the market.

It has found that on average, homes across the UK remain on the market for 101 days before they are snapped up by a new owner.

In the North-East, three towns and cities are well above this average indicating that selling homes in these areas are particularly harder.

Middlesbrough has seen house sales take around 48 days longer than the average, officially being named the UKs second-worst when it comes to time on the market.

Meanwhile, a record has been broken in the region for the UKs longest home on the market - a property in Sunderland has been available since July 2009.

Here's how the region compares with the UK

1. Oxford - 152 days 

2. Middlesbrough - 149 days

3. Slough - 148 days

4. Blackpool - 146 days

5. London - 138 days

6. Sunderland - 130 days

7. Lincoln - 127 days

8. Newcastle - 121 days

9. Bournemouth - 115 days

10. Blackburn - 114 days

Here are the best places to sell a home in the UK

Considering the best areas to sell a home, houses in Edinburgh sell the quickest.

Homes in Scotland’s capital sell at a remarkable rate of just 45 days– 56 days quicker than the UK average.

As the culture capital of Britain, it comes as no surprise that many people want to live in Glasgow.

As the second quickest selling area, houses are listed for just 47 days on average.

Third, fourth and fifth places go to Dundee, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent – properties in these areas are on the market for an average of 72, 74, and 77 days respectively.

Speedy sales also occur in Bristol, Mansfield, Northampton, Swindon and Manchester, to make the top ten.

What the experts have said

A spokesperson for OnlineMortgageAdvisor said: “While the beginning of 2020 was met with a complete shutdown of the property market, it’s unsurprising it would experience a mini boom once it began to re-open.

"But for some areas more than others – the Scottish market opened later, which is one of many reasons that several Scottish cities sell quicker than other places in the UK.

"Other reasons include Scottish cities being marketed better than elsewhere in many ways - they are often listed with more valuable information and valued better, yielding faster sales.

"When it comes to the North East, there could be a number of reasons for slower selling properties.

"Prices may be too high for the area, decreasing and delaying chances of a sale, with other potential reasons including a lack of demand, refusal to negotiate, and more.”