Over £900 million economic opportunity lost to property fall throughs
- Analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals there is an economic opportunity of over £900 million in England if the number of property transactions falling through can be reduced
- The calculations show that nearly £392m in potential estate agency revenue and £515m in potential government stamp duty receipts were lost last year to fall throughs that didn’t come back to market:
- Separate calculations show there is a nearly £7m total economic opportunity for Scotland, and £23m opportunity for Wales by reducing fall throughs
- Highlighting the need to make the market more efficient, last year it took an average of five months in total for a house purchase across Great Britain to go through the legal completion process
- Responding to the government’s consultation on home-moving reform last year, Rightmove believes that digitisation of the home-buying process is critical to reduce fall throughs and speed up the property market
New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that there is an economic opportunity of over £900 million in England being missed by property transactions falling through.
The figure is based on the 6% of property transactions that fall through and don’t come back to market within a year, using last year’s 1.03 million housing transactions in England, an average stamp duty payment of £7,590 and an assumed average estate agency commission of 1.5%.
Rightmove’s analysis suggests that in total nearly £392 million in potential estate agency revenue commission in England is lost through property transactions falling through, in addition to nearly £515 million in potential stamp duty receipts for the government.
Separate calculations for Scotland and Wales show that there is also a nearly £7m total economic opportunity for Scotland, and £23m opportunity for Wales by reducing fall throughs. These separate calculations consider the lower rate of fall throughs in Scotland, and the differing land taxes in the two countries.
These figures demonstrate the huge potential if even some of these property chains stayed together. Rightmove’s data shows that 6% of property transactions fall through and don’t come back to market within 12 months, while a much larger one in five transactions (23%) initially fall through before later completing successfully. This highlights the home buying-and selling inefficiencies in the system, with estate agency earnings fees delayed, and home-movers potentially having to pay fees more than once, and suffer from uncertainty and delays to important life plans.
Rightmove strongly believes that further digitisation and alignment of the home-moving process is key to enable a reduction in property fall throughs. Last year it took an average of five months in total for a house purchase to go through the legal completion process.
Responding to the government’s consultation on reforms to the home-moving process which closed at the end of 2025, Rightmove said that digitisation of the property sector and processes is essential for efficiency, transparency, and consumer confidence.
In that consultation, examples of faster and more digital transaction processes in countries like Norway, Finland and Estonia were included as part of its objective to improve the home-buying and selling process.
Rightmove also shared in its consultation response that providing comprehensive upfront information about a property listing in a consistent way could help to reduce fall-throughs, improve transparency, and support estate agents who have to hold chains together for elongated periods.
Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove’s CEO says: “Our analysis highlights the scale of the economic opportunity if fall through rates can be reduced. More than one in five (23%) transactions are affected by fall throughs, costing agents either lost or delayed fees and leading to some home-movers paying thousands in repeat costs. We believe that further digitisation can help to bring this number down. Addressing it will require government investment, innovation across the transaction process, and stronger industry collaboration.
“The home‑moving journey is still slowed down by many manual and fragmented processes. A seller shouldn’t need to list their home in April to move before Christmas. Our mission is to build the UK’s leading digital ecosystem for the entire moving experience, creating more opportunities for our estate agency partners and helping consumers move with greater confidence and speed. We believe a more effective system and increased mobility would add to overall economic growth in the UK.”
Rightmove is digitising the home-moving journey further through the recent launch of products and consumer home-moving features including:
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- An exceptional and high-quality digital search experience, powered by AI-Keywords and the release of a beta version of AI-powered conversational property search
- A digital Mortgage in Principle, alongside a suite of online mortgage tools to help people to understand their affordability much earlier in their search journey
- Online Agent Valuation, a digital valuation tool to help potential future sellers to connect with an agent online and receive an initial valuation ahead of an in-person visit
- A Renters’ Checklist to help guide people through the process of renting a home
Craig Webster, Managing Director at Tiger Estates in Blackpool says: “Fall throughs continue to be one of the most overlooked inefficiencies in the residential market, yet they have a significant financial impact on agents, vendors and buyers alike. The true cost of those collapsed transactions goes far beyond a single lost fee. When a sale falls through, the agent has already invested substantial time and cost in securing the listing, marketing the property, vetting and managing buyers, and progressing the sale through to and beyond offer stage.
“Anything that improves transaction efficiency — particularly in conveyancing and data flows between parties — will reduce the risk of fall throughs. Faster, clearer communication between agents, lenders, solicitors and buyers builds confidence throughout the chain and helps prevent delays from snowballing into cancellations. At the same time, accurate pricing and early legal preparation for vendors are practical steps agents can take to better manage their own risk and give buyers greater clarity early in the process. Reducing fall throughs is not about eliminating risk entirely — that’s unrealistic — it’s about minimising preventable inefficiencies so that more agreed sales actually complete.”
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