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UK Housing: Property fall-throughs on the rise

Research from the House Buyer Bureau has found that the number of property transactions collapsing increased by 10.2% in the second quarter of 2023.

Nearly 70,000 transactions fell through in Q2, costing around £3,400.

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said: “It was more or less inevitable that fall-throughs were due to climb this year, and this increase has come at a considerable cost to the nation’s buyers and sellers at a time when finances are already stretched to breaking point.

“The market may have cooled in terms of transactional volumes, which has led to a reduction in annual fall-throughs when compared to the heights of the pandemic boom. However, current market conditions are uncertain, to say the least, and many buyers have struggled with the increasing cost of borrowing, which has forced them to reassess their position within the market.

“This has been a driving force behind the recent uptick in sales collapsing during the second quarter of the year, and the best way to bypass this property disappointment is to secure a cash buyer as the dangers of a fall through are dramatically reduced. This is easier said than done, though, as our recent research found they have accounted for just 31% of sales across Britain in the last year.

“The good news is, that with the Bank of England finally choosing to freeze rates last week, we should see a greater degree of stability return to the market during the closing stages of this year.”

While the quarterly picture is disappointing, it’s important to note that current fall-through rates are still lower than they were this time last year.

The number of failed transactions is currently -10.4% lower than a year ago, while the total cost of fall-throughs is -5.9% lower.

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