Selling
Selling & Buying Methods Compared
There is no single 'right' way to sell a home in the UK. Every method is a trade between three things: the price you achieve, the speed of completion, and the certainty that the deal sticks. As a rule, you can have any two — but rarely all three. This guide walks through the six routes you'll see on Frontdoor (and elsewhere), what each typically delivers, and how the same trade-off looks from a buyer's seat.
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The price–speed–certainty triangle
Sellers who need cash this month will accept a meaningful discount to get it. Sellers willing to wait six months for the right buyer in an open market typically achieve the highest price. Every method on the spectrum is just a different point along that curve.
Buyers face the mirror image. The same routes that give a seller speed and certainty give a buyer the chance of a discount — usually because they're competing with cash buyers, professional developers and auction regulars rather than other families.
The six routes at a glance
| Method | Time to completion | Typical % of market value | Certainty | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick-cash iBuyer (e.g. Upstix, We Buy Any House) | 1–4 weeks | 80–90% | Very high — cash, no chain | Probate, divorce, relocation, chain-break, repossession risk |
| Auction — traditional (unconditional) | Exchange on the day, complete in ~28 days | 75–90% (often distressed stock) | Very high — 10% deposit on the gavel, contract is binding | Repossessions, renovation projects, unmortgageable property, executor sales |
| Auction — modern method (conditional) | ~56 days (28 to exchange + 28 to complete) | 85–95% | High — reservation fee binds the buyer | Probate, tenanted property, sellers wanting an auction-style deadline with mortgage buyers |
| Buy Now (fixed price, instant acceptance) | 8–14 weeks | 95–100% | High — first qualified buyer secures it | Realistically priced homes where the seller wants to skip negotiation |
| Best Offers by date (sealed bids) | 10–16 weeks (after the deadline) | 98–105% | Medium — best bid still has to survey and finance | Hot markets, unique properties, when interest is heavy in the first 7–14 days |
| Private treaty (open negotiation) | 20–30 weeks on average from listing to completion | 95–105% | Medium — fall-through rate is roughly 1 in 3 | Most owner-occupier sales where time is not critical |
Ranges are guides, not guarantees. Local market, condition, leasehold complications and the buyer's chain all move the numbers.
Quick-cash iBuyers (Upstix, We Buy Any House and friends)
iBuyers and quick-cash buyers make a same-week cash offer, usually 80–90% of independent market value, and complete in as little as 7–21 days. There are no estate agent fees and the buyer pays your legal costs in many cases.
The trade is obvious: speed and certainty, paid for in price. The route makes most sense when the alternative — months on the open market with the risk of fall-through — has a real cost (a second mortgage, a divorce settlement, a repossession deadline, a job in another city).
- Get an independent valuation first so you know the discount you're being asked to accept.
- Read the small print on 'subject to survey' clauses — the headline offer can be re-cut after inspection.
- Ask whether the buyer is the principal or a trader assigning the contract.
Auction — traditional vs modern method
Traditional auction is the fastest binding route in UK property: the hammer falls, contracts exchange on the day, and completion is typically 28 days later. The modern (conditional) method extends this to roughly 56 days and lets mortgage buyers compete, in exchange for a non-refundable reservation fee.
Both routes attract a particular kind of stock — repossessions, executor sales, properties with short leases, structural issues, fire damage, sitting tenants, or anything a high-street lender will not finance. That is why headline 'achieved prices' look low compared to private treaty: the underlying property is often not directly comparable.
- Sellers: budget 2–3% of sale price in auction fees plus the legal pack.
- Buyers: read the legal pack before you bid, factor in buyer's premium, and have funds in place — there is no cooling-off period.
- As a private buyer at auction you are competing with professional developers who price to a renovation budget and a target margin. A bargain is possible; an emotional purchase rarely is.
Buy Now — fixed price, first qualified buyer wins
Buy Now is the cleanest experience for a buyer who knows the home is right and doesn't want to negotiate. The seller commits to the price; the first qualified buyer (proof of funds, mortgage in principle, ID verified) secures the property and the listing flips to Sold STC.
For a seller it removes weeks of haggling, but the price has to be right on day one — overprice it and the listing simply ages.
Best Offers by date (sealed bids)
Best Offers sets a deadline — usually 7 to 14 days after launch — by which all interested buyers submit their best and final bid in writing, alongside their position (cash or chain, mortgage offer, solicitor instructed). The seller picks the winning combination of price and position; it is rarely the highest number on its own.
It works well in hot markets and for unusual properties where the right buyer will pay a premium. It works badly when interest is thin — a deadline with two bids feels deflating.
Private treaty — the default
Around 85% of UK residential sales still go through private treaty: list with an agent, accept offers as they come, negotiate, and proceed to exchange. Average time from listing to completion across the UK is roughly 20–30 weeks, with conveyancing alone accounting for 12–16 weeks of that.
Done well, private treaty typically achieves 95–105% of fair market value. Done badly — overpriced, badly photographed, or marketed without buyer-position checks — the same property can sit for six months and sell at a discount because buyers smell distress.
Why fall-throughs happen
Roughly 1 in 3 agreed sales falls through, most often because of chain collapse, survey downvaluation, mortgage withdrawal or buyer's remorse. Frontdoor's Buyer Position RAG indicator is designed to flag these risks before you accept an offer.
How it looks from a buyer's seat
Every method that gives a seller certainty gives a buyer the chance of a discount — and vice versa. The pecking order roughly inverts:
- iBuyer route: not relevant — these companies are themselves the buyer.
- Auction: best chance of a bargain, but you're up against developers with renovation experience and pre-arranged finance.
- Buy Now: pay the asking price, but you remove uncertainty and lock the home down before anyone else can offer.
- Best Offers: you have to bid blind against unknown competition; useful when you genuinely have the strongest position, painful when you don't.
- Private treaty: most room to negotiate, longest timeline, highest fall-through risk on both sides.
Choosing the right method as a seller
- Need to be out in under a month and the price is secondary → quick-cash iBuyer.
- Property needs work, has legal quirks, or is unmortgageable → traditional auction.
- Probate or tenanted, but mortgageable → modern method auction.
- Fairly priced and you want a clean, fast sale → Buy Now.
- Hot demand, unusual property, expecting multiple bidders → Best Offers by date.
- Owner-occupier sale, time isn't critical, you want maximum price → Private treaty.
You can change route
Frontdoor lets an agent switch a listing between methods (e.g. start on Private treaty, move to Best Offers if interest is heavy in week one, or to a quick-cash route if the chain collapses). The decision isn't permanent.