The third quarter of 2017 saw just over 28% of all house sales in England and Wales fall through before completion, according to national home buyer, Quick Move Now.
This was an increase from 26% which was recorded in the previous quarter.
Quick Move Now said the reasons behind the fall-throughs were as follows:
- House sale not progressing forward – 26%
- Lender refused credit – 21%
- Buyer tried to renegotiate on original offer – 21%
- The buyer changed mind on house sale – 16%
- Survey Issues – buyer pulled out – 11%
- Other fall through reason – 5%
Quick Move Now has also published annual fall through figures, which offer a greater overview of how the property market is performing generally, allowing for seasonal peaks and troughs as well as external economic factors:
- Q1 2016 – 22% of house sales fell through
- Q2 2016 – 29% of house sales fell through
- Q3 2016 – 30% of house sales fell through
- Q4 2016 – 31% of house sales fell through
- Q1 2017 – 35% of house sales fell through
- Q2 2017 – 26% of house sales fell through
- Q3 2017 – 28% of house sales fell through
Danny Luke, Quick Move Now’s managing director, said: “2016 as a whole was a turbulent year for the UK property market, with external factors like the EU referendum, the triggering of Article 50 all playing their part on the fall through rate.
“As we reflect on Q3, it’s clear the UK property market is still full of uncertainty and instability. Looking at the reasons behind the fall-throughs for Q3, nearly 63% occurred due to hesitation on the buyer’s part; 26% of buyers weren’t progressing forwards with their sale; 21% of buyers tried to renegotiate on their original offer, while 16% of buyers in Q3 completely changed their mind about the sale. These reasons behind the house sale fall throughs would indicate a complete lack of confidence from buyers.
“Nearly every day, the media is reporting a property price slow-down across the UK. And with many property experts predicting this downward shift to continue as we go into 2018, I would expect buyers to become even more apprehensive in the short term.”