Data shared by property platform View My Chain suggests a quarter of agreed sales in the UK this year have fallen through, with 214,052 sales failing to complete between January and August.
The analysis, using residential property data collected by insight and analytics company TwentyCi, places the overall fall-through rate of UK home purchases at 24.3%.
Paul Halliwell, executive director at View My Chain, said the figures highlight the need for change in the transaction process and called for greater transparency in home-buying chains, which he said can now be achieved thanks to progressions in available technology.
‘Policy, standards and momentum have now aligned for impactful change to the transaction process’, he said.
“Invisible chains are no longer an unsolvable problem because the technology and integrations already exist to support transparency. In our pilot with a 1,000 branch national agency, chain visibility cut the time to exchange by an average of 17 days, achieved on a relatively light integration with their CRM – proof that even modest steps can unlock significant gains.
“The opportunity is significant. Cutting completion times will save thousands of wasted professional hours, reduce fall-throughs and restore consumer confidence.”
The figures were released as property experts warn that speculation over the introduction of a new property tax risks is adding to the number of fall-throughs. Simon Gerrard, chairman at Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, said he is already seeing what he calls ‘the real-time damage’ caused by the rumours, with 20% of sales agreed by the agency in August falling through.
The ‘panic, confusion and uncertainty’ sparked by the potential new taxes are a clear indication that the policies would be damaging and show a ‘total lack of understanding’ of the housing market, Gerrard said.
He continued:
“The cacophony of noise coming from the Treasury through leaks and kite flying is causing one of the worst self-inflicted injuries I have seen from a Government since previous stamp duty changes were brought in but not implemented until months in the future. The uncertainty caused by the rumours surrounding touted policies is extremely damaging and poisonous for business and consumer sentiment.”
Gerrard warns that the uncertainty triggered by the announcement could have a similar impact to Brexit, when members of the public put off decisions and businesses held back from investments while negotiations were ongoing. He explained:
“The worst damage caused by Brexit was the insecurity and uncertainty for years that prevented the public from making decisions and businesses from making investments. We saw the same last year in the run up to the Budget and we’re witnessing it again. The Government has unfortunately learned nothing from the past.
“The panic, confusion and uncertainty sparked by these potential new taxes have caused almost 20% of our agreed sales in August to see the buyers withdraw only a week or two later. The shadow of the Budget now looms and this constant chatter will put a hold on the property market during September and October, detrimentally affecting the overall economy whilst we are in this limbo.”
The ’disastrous’ policies the government has touted show a ‘total lack of understanding’ of the housing market, Gerrard added, warning that the so-called mansion tax will have a negative impact on middle classes living in family homes in London and the South East.
