A buying agent has claimed that its sales fall-throughs rate for agreed purchases has bottomed out at 5% compared to a national average of between 25% and 30%.

The claim has been made by Garrington, the buying agency originally set up by TV presenter Phil Spencer but now owned by its management.

Garrington says it normally sees a fall-through rate of between 10% and 15% but, during one recent 12-month period, it reduced to five percent.

The firm says its success is clear evidence that having a separate agent to represent the buyer and do much of the legwork helps prevent the majority of trip-ups that lead to deals falling through.

Sales fall-throughs are on the political agenda. Matt Prior from the MHCLG gave a speech last week during which he said ministers were hoping to pilot an ‘industry standard’ reservation agreement later this year.

And research by YouMoveNow recently revealed that the fall-through rate in some areas of the UK had reached 50% during the worst excesses of the ‘Brexit storm’ as buyer and seller jitters came to a crescendo.

“Represented buyers are far less likely to withdraw from a transaction for a number of reasons,” says Garrington’s chief executive Jonathan Hopper (left).

“They are likely to have been educated about market prices, better understand relative values and be much surer of what they really want from their next home having been challenged through the search process.

“Critically, an experienced buying agent will have carried out extensive due diligence prior to agreeing terms for their client and entering into a transaction.

“Finally, the positive working relationship that sales and buying agents enjoy in most instances allows for some fairly straight talking to take place during a transaction.

“This allows for better management of expectations.”