Sellers losing out as over 300,000 property transactions are falling through every year

Over 300,000 property transactions are falling through every year due to broken chains and buyers changing their mind largely, costing sellers a total of £400 million, according to latest research from HomeOwners Alliance and IMMO.

The survey exploring the experiences of home sellers, conducted by HomeOwners Alliance, and IMMO.co.uk,  and polled by YouGov, found that 20% of sellers have experienced a sale collapse,  of those affected 51% incurring costs averaging £2,727 and 12% losing more than £5,000.

Commenting on the findings, Paula Higgins, Chief Executive of HomeOwners Alliance says:
“We often hear about would-be buyers losing their dream homes as a result of sellers accepting higher offers but less is said about sellers forking out thousands in wasted fees only for buyers to change their mind, leaving the seller back at square one.”

“Gazundering and time wasting is a huge problem. The homeselling system is so unreliable it’s deterring homeowners from selling – adding to the ongoing housing shortage crisis as a lack of suitable homes is one of the barriers to people moving up the property ladder. Buyers need to have a little more skin in the game too. An earlier commitment – for example through reservation agreements – would go some way to avoiding these situations.”

Samantha Kempe, Co-Founder of IMMO.co.uk, says: “The current system has created a fundamental power imbalance between the seller and the buyer, with the seller often at the buyer’s mercy during what is often the largest financial decision of their lives. Sellers should be able to proceed with the sale of their property knowing what price they will receive and feeling assured that the sale will go through.”

“At IMMO, we believe in a better way to sell property which allows sellers to maintain the upper hand and avoid the uncertainty, hassle and stress created by the homeselling system.”

Read the research report 13th May 2018 in full click here.