Data released today by Quick Move Now has indicated that the house sale fall through rate increased in the final quarter of 2015.
Figures from the report suggest that there was a house sale fall through rate of 27.94% in the last quarter, rising by 8.32% on the 19.62% recorded in quarter three of last year.
Consistent
Additionally, Quick Move Now revealed figures for the annual fall through rate, offering a better overview onto how the property market is performing in general.
The yearly fall through rate was revealed to be fairly constant throughout the whole in 2015, hovering around the 29% mark. As the year drew to a close, the fall through rate was 29.26%.
‘2015 was an interesting year for the UK property market and the fall through rates reflect that,’ observed Danny Luke, Business Manager at Quick Move Now. ‘Tougher lending criteria was introduced as a result of the Mortgage Market Review, which meant some prospective buyers found it challenging to secure a mortgage, or found they were able to borrow less than they had anticipated. In fact, nine percent of sales that fell through did so as a result of not being able to secure a mortgage.’[1]
Luke believes that, ‘the two biggest reasons for house sales falling through in Q4 2015 were buyers changing their mind (27.2%) and problems identified at survey or failed renegotiation following a survey (27.2%) which is unsurprising in the current market.’[1]
Quarter of house sales fell through in final 3 months of 2015
Lack of supply
‘A lack of properties coming to market has led to prospective buyers having to move very quickly in order to secure a property and may mean they put an offer in on a less than ideal property through fear that they’ll be unable to find anything else,’ he continued. ‘Some inevitably get cold feet about such a large investment, or find that a survey confirms their fears and pull out before the sale completes.’[1]
Mr Luke went on to say, ‘chain collapse still featured prominently, with 22.7% of property sales falling through as a result of chain issues and it’s definitely an issue very much on sellers’ minds. We get calls every day from sellers keen to secure a guaranteed sale so they don’t risk missing out on their onward purchase due to a chain collapse.’[1]
‘Seller pulling out for a higher offer (9%) and buyer health issues/personal problems (4.5%) make up the remaining failed completions,’ he concluded.
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/1-in-4-house-sales-fell-through-in-q4-2015.html