Simon Brown, the chief executive of Landmark Information Group, says that there is not one easily identified bottleneck slowing down the pace of sales.

“If the answer was really simple, we wouldn’t have that problem, because someone would have fixed it by now,” he says.

“We have an industry that has largely been siloed. So the real estate agents, the lenders, whether it be the banks or building societies, the brokers to some extent, the conveyances, they’re all highly regulated, they all have significant obligations of things they must do, but they’re not necessarily well connected with each other.

“If you then add the fact that you’ve got an industry that’s been highly analogue, you’ve got a situation where the work practice is such that it has gotten very slow.”

While digitalisation has improved somewhat as a result of the pandemic, the lack of cooperation between the different parties involved still slows the process down. Many processes such as money laundering and identity checks are therefore duplicated.

“The industry as a whole needs to agree that it needs to go faster,” Brown adds.

Scandinavian countries have smaller populations, national digital ID systems and a different legal system to the UK – making quick property transactions more feasible.

But Australia has a similar legal system to the UK and a fairly large population at 26 million people. And yet you can buy a property there in four weeks, Brown, who is from Australia himself, points out.

“When I came here I couldn’t believe that it took so long. In fact, when people were talking about chains, I’d never heard of a chain,” he says.

Having a more effective system for selling properties would benefit the economy in many ways, it is argued. Making it easier for people to move means there is less inefficient use of resources, workers can easily follow opportunities and more money is spent on home improvements.

In Copenhagen, Sarah has long since had new floors installed, bought a big bright blue sofa and is now looking at getting the kitchen redone.

Evans, who will likely be forced to walk away from the flat he’s been trying to buy since February, had been looking forward to renovating and furnishing his new flat too.

Instead he will likely be stuck in his current house share for many months and faces a much higher mortgage rate than previously if he finds a new place.

“The biggest hurdle is just how long it’s taken,” he says wearily.    

Are you finding it difficult to shift your property in the UK? Please share your experience with us in the comments section below