The number of property sales in the UK which fell through rose by 9.8% during the first quarter of 2026, the latest index by the House Buyer Bureau reveals.
Failed transactions cost the housing sector an additional £20.9 million compared to the previous quarter.
Analysis of the latest data from TwentyCi shows that an estimated 67,489 property transactions collapsed during the first quarter of the year, an increase of almost 10% on the previous quarter.
Despite this quarterly increase, however, fall-through volumes remain -12.1% lower than during Q1 2025.
The estimated total cost of fall-throughs to the UK housing market climbed from £218.3 million in Q4 2025 to £239.2 million in Q1 2026.
While the frequency of fall-throughs increased, the estimated average cost incurred by sellers saw a marginal quarterly reduction.
House Buyer Bureau’s analysis shows that the average cost of a fall-through stood at an estimated £3,544 in Q1 2026, down by -0.2% on the previous quarter, but 2.1% higher year-on-year.
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said: “After a significant reduction in fall-through activity at the end of last year, it’s disappointing to see the number of collapsed transactions move back in the wrong direction during the opening months of 2026.
“Whilst the average financial hit associated with a failed sale has remained broadly stable, it’s the increase in the number of transactions falling apart that is the real concern. Every fall-through represents wasted time, uncertainty, and additional expense for those involved, particularly sellers who often find themselves having to restart the process from scratch.”
2 responses
I have asked this question before but never really gotten to the bottom of it, but how does this cost the housing sector money? If it is costing consumers £20mill then that is actually revenue into the housing sector, not a cost to it.
What would be useful and interesting would be to understand where this figure of £20.9 mill has come from and how is it made up.
Good question Mr Joy. Where do they get the ‘£3,544 estimated average cost of a fall through’