Big rise in number of sales fall-throughs reported
Homebuyers are still struggling with higher mortgage rates and so more and more sales are falling through says Moverly’s Gemma Young.
The number of property transactions that have fallen through saw a quarterly rise of 18% according to the latest analysis by compliance firm Moverly, while withdrawals rose by 2.1% albeit off a much larger base.
The data shows that during the second quarter of 2024 a total of 76,619 property transactions fell through, while during the same period some 187,262 properties were withdrawn by vendors, which is equivalent to 2.4 withdrawals for every fall-through.
But withdrawals have a much greater impact on the UK housing market than fall-throughs because they cost estate agents considerable time and money.
Gemma Young (main image), Moverly CEO, says: “Although a hold on interest rates since September last year has helped to steady the economic outlook, homebuyers are continuing to struggle with far higher interest rates than they’ve previously become accustomed to.
The market continues to suffer from the instability caused by the higher cost of borrowing.”
“So it’s hardly surprising that we’ve seen a sharp uplift in the number of sales falling through, as the market continues to suffer from the instability caused by the higher cost of borrowing.
“At the same time, a great deal of sellers are choosing to withdraw from the market and this is no doubt due to the fact that they simply aren’t gaining the interest required or at the price point they expected.”
Good news
Young adds: “The good news is that the market has certainly turned a corner and during Q3, in particular, we’ve seen a notable uplift in buyers entering the market.
“With market momentum starting to build, there’s a good chance that we could see a reduction in fall-through rates during the second half of this year and, with more buyers entering the fray, we should see less sellers taking the decision to withdraw as well.”
Read more about fall-throughs.
Maybe they’re tying them up too quickly. For many, changing boards to ‘Sold’ is more important than checking buyers properly!
Solicitors taking far too long is another reason. They always have excuses and buyers get frustrated and withdraw.
If you’d asked me the same question I would have told you we are finding fall throughs at an all time low with far less falling through than last year. What it doesn’t say in this report is how 2024 is comparing to 2022 and 2023 overall. One persons opinion doesn’t provide evidence and maybe they need to manage their sales better or make sure they are more diligent when they first tie them up! Just saying.