Cause of most fall-throughs is seller deciding not to sell after all

The chief reason for sales falling through is that the seller decides not to sell their home after all.

According to new research from Which? Mortgage Advisers, 28% of deals fall through after acceptance of an offer, leaving buyers almost £3,000 out of pocket.

A survey of 2,000 home buyers who had bought their home in the last two years found it takes over 4.5 months on average from starting a property search to having an offer accepted.

However, 28% of purchases went on to fall through because:

  •     The seller decided not to sell their home after all (27%)
  •     The buyer pulled out, as their own property sale had fallen through (21%)
  •     The buyer found somewhere else to buy (21%)
  •     The buyer was gazumped (21%)

The average loss per buyer was £2,899, including conveyancing, survey, mortgage valuation or broker fees.

The Government has said it will consult on how the home buying and selling process could become more efficient, by preventing fall-throughs by making deals binding on the acceptance of an offer.

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5 Comments

  1. Rob Hailstone

    What percentage fell through after instructing a conveyancer and what percentage lost money I wonder?

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  2. Emmersons46

    The “why” behind each of these 4 reasons needs to be analysed if the conveyancing process is to be reformed so it is effective and efficient.

    Stopping people testing the waters might be a good idea. How could that be achieved?

     

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    1. PeeBee

      ‘Stopping people testing the waters might be a good idea.’

      With respect, EVERYONE who places their property on the market is ‘testing the water’.

      It’s the myriad of possibilities thereafter that make the difference between moving and staying put.

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  3. PeeBee

    SO…

    27% of 90% of 28% of 2000 transactions fell apart because the seller changed their mind about selling.

    That’s 136 – or, put in a more reasonable context, 6.8% of all transactions – if you can believe that 2000 is a fair representation of 1,000,000+ and call it an ‘average’, that is.

    On the other hand, 21% of 90% blah, blah, cut’n’paste (106) buyers pulled the plug because the grass looked greener elsewhere even though they’d been as moist as a busker in Blackpool the week ‘afore about their ‘forever home’.

    But it’s the awkward seller that get’s the bad rep.

    You couldn’t make it up.

    Actually – looks like someone has.

    My statistic of buyers costing me a commission, for what it’s worth, is 0.0048%.

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    1. PeeBee

      BU99ER – I meant sellers

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