Selling a home in Tonbridge and the surrounding parts of Kent is rarely instant. Across this wider market, homes typically spend around 182 days finding a buyer before going under offer, and only about 30% of listings reach sold subject to contract status at any given time. Those figures matter because they set realistic expectations. A property that has been on the market for six weeks is not necessarily struggling. But a property that has sat quietly for six months, with little interest and no clear plan, is a different story.
The question of when to change estate agents is one of the most common a seller will face, and one of the hardest to answer well. Move too soon and you risk losing momentum, restarting a listing that just needed more time. Wait too long and you risk a stale property that buyers have already dismissed. This guide sets out how to tell the difference, and how to make the decision calmly rather than in frustration.
Understand what normal actually looks like
Before deciding whether your agent is underperforming, look at what a typical timeline actually involves in this area. With average days on market sitting at 182, a property that has been listed for two or three months is still well within a normal window. Many sellers panic at the first quiet fortnight, assume something is wrong, and start shopping around for a new agent before the original one has had a fair chance.
A more useful approach is to set checkpoints in advance. Agree with your agent, at the point of instruction, what should happen by 30 days, by 60 days, and by 90 days. This gives you an objective way to judge progress rather than relying on gut feeling alone.
The 30 day check
By the end of the first month, you should have a clear picture of interest levels. How many enquiries has the listing generated? How many of those turned into viewings? How many viewings have led to feedback, and what has that feedback said? If the numbers are healthy but there has been no offer, this is usually not a reason to change agents. It may simply mean the price needs revisiting, or that the right buyer has not yet come along.
If enquiries are low from the start, the problem is more likely to be marketing or pricing than the agent's effort on any single day. This is worth raising directly rather than waiting.
The 90 day check
Ninety days is a more meaningful milestone. By this point you should be able to answer three questions honestly. Has the price been tested properly, with evidence to support it? Has the marketing been refreshed, including photography and description, rather than left untouched since launch? And has your agent been proactive in updating you, or have you had to chase for information?
If the answer to all three is no, this is the point where a conversation about change becomes reasonable. Not because 90 days without a sale is unusual in itself, given that the average time on market here runs well beyond this, but because a lack of activity or communication over that period suggests the agent has stopped working the listing rather than the market simply being slow.
Signs it is the agent, not the market
Some patterns point clearly towards an agent problem rather than a wider market issue. If viewings have consistently praised the property but no follow up calls or feedback requests have happened, that is a process failure. If your agent cannot tell you how many people have viewed the online listing, or has no plan for the next round of marketing, that is a lack of active management. If communication has gone quiet and updates only happen when you ask for them, that is a service issue rather than a market one.
By contrast, if enquiries are steady, feedback is being collected and shared promptly, and your agent can explain clearly what has been tried and what is planned next, the issue is more likely to be pricing, presentation, or simply time. Changing agents in that situation rarely solves anything, because the same buyers will see the same property under a different name.
What changing agents actually achieves
It is worth being honest about what a change in agent can and cannot do. A new agent brings fresh eyes, a new set of photographs, and a relisting that appears as new to portal algorithms and to buyers who search regularly. This can genuinely help a property that has become stale after months of unchanged marketing.
What a new agent cannot do is create demand that does not exist at the current price, or fix a property's fundamental presentation issues without your cooperation. If the underlying problem is price or condition, switching agents without addressing those will likely produce the same result within a similar timeframe.
How to have the conversation first
Before ending an agreement, have a direct conversation with your current agent. Ask them to explain, in specific terms, how many enquiries the listing has had, how many viewings, what feedback has said, and what they would change if given the chance. A good agent will have clear answers and a plan. An agent who cannot explain their own numbers, or who has no suggestions beyond waiting, is telling you something important.
This conversation also gives you a chance to reset expectations together. Sometimes a price adjustment, new photography, or a different marketing approach can be agreed without needing to switch firms at all. This is often faster and less disruptive than starting again elsewhere.
Timing a switch, if you do make one
If you do decide to change agents, timing the switch well matters. Avoid making the change and then leaving the new agent to simply relist the same photographs and description. Use the change as an opportunity for a proper relaunch, including updated images, a revised price if the evidence supports it, and a clear description that reflects what buyers have actually responded to during viewings so far.
Also check your contract terms before committing to a new agent. Many agreements include a minimum tie in period or a notice requirement, and understanding these avoids paying fees to two agents or facing delays in bringing the new listing live.
There is no fixed number of weeks that applies to every sale. But using 30 days and 90 days as honest checkpoints, backed by real numbers on enquiries, viewings and feedback, gives sellers a structured way to judge whether patience or change is the right next step. Given that homes in this market can take considerably longer than three months to reach an offer, the decision should rest on the quality of activity and communication, not on the calendar alone.