A house buying company has said the property sales fall-through rate plummeted to an all-time low of 17% during the final months of the year.

Quick Move Now says this is exceptionally low – last year its figures showed a fall-through rate of 28% over the same period.

“During the final quarter of the year we have felt the force of the looming stamp duty holiday deadline of 31^st March, as buyers race to get the sale completed in time,” says its MD Danny Luke.

This deadline has focussed minds and shaken out the pickier purchasers, who are more prone to pull out of deals when faced with problematical surveys or lenders.

Weird year

Quick Move Now’s data also reveals what a weird year it has been – the fall-through rate surged earlier this year hitting 52% of all sales at one point as Covid uncertainty crept into the market during the lockdown months, pushing up the annual rate to 43%.

“During the first and second quarters of this year, the main reason property sales fell through was that the buyer changed their mind and pulled out of the sale,” says Luke (pictured).

“This accounted for 36 percent of failed sales in each quarter.

The company says the quarter most property sales failed due to the buyer being refused lending or the buyer pulling out after a property survey.  But the final quarter of the year saw most failed sales attributed to buyers pulling out after a property survey or the buyer gazumped by a higher offer.

Read more sales fall through rates.