Property sales fall throughs cost the estate agent involved £4,123 each time, new research has revealed.
Carried out by Opinium for Propertymark, it also found that a quarter of all agents said fall-throughs are a substantial problem for their business.
It is accepted in the business that agencies will see up to 25% of instructions fall through when problems discovered during conveyancing prior to the exchange drives buyers or sellers to pull out of a deal.
Propertymark says it has published the research in part to underline to the Chancellor how much revenue agents will lose if the 31st March Stamp Duty deadline remains in place.
It says agents report that many sales are likely to fall through when buyers realise their purchases will not make the deadline in time.
The research also reveals how much of a scourge fall-through for agents, being a problem for two in five businesses.
A further 24 per cent said they are a substantial problem and the vast majority of agents (82 per cent) say this loss of revenue has the biggest impact on their business, followed by the waste of human resources.
“We have continually called on government to rethink the timings of the Stamp Duty deadline and the recent speculation of an extension will be good news for the sector,” says Mark Hayward (pictured), Chief Policy Advisor, Propertymark.
“But extending the holiday until June will create another cliff edge and purely push back the increase in the number of failed sales as we approach the new deadline.
“We need Government to consider a tapered end to the holiday so that buyers aren’t forced to pull out at the last minute and the property market can continue to thrive.”
Over £4k average for a fall through is a hugh cost for the industry to carry as well as the upset for the consumers. Preparing both the sellers and the buyers for the transaction, with as much up front information as possible can only help this situation. try a PIP Vault were information can be collated and stored, then shared with potential buyers. http://www.piphome.co.uk