Research by Idealista has revealed that it takes an average of 344 days to sell a property in Spain and unless the seller drops the price it could take even longer.

The situation in Barcelona and Madrid is marginally better as it takes 320 days to find a buyer in Madrid, but only 304 days in Barcelona. These two cities have the most liquid property markets in Spain.

The report pointed out that when the property market was at it peak in 2004 it would take only 86 days to sell a property in Madrid and a mere 76 days in Barcelona. Even 12 months ago, in late 2008, it only took 242 and 217 days respectively to sell a property.

Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista, said: “All those properties with asking prices beyond the reach of real demand were not included because they haven’t sold, and until their prices are reduced they won’t sell.”

Avila (in Castilla y Leon) is the province where it takes longest to sell a home (523 days), followed by Segovia, Castellon (Costa Azahar), Alicante (Costa Blanca), and Granada (Costa Tropical). Homes sell the quickest in Albacete (Castilla La Mancha) at just 222 days, followed by Pontevedra in Galicia (268 days) and Guipúzcoa in The Basque Country (283) days.