Thirty-one per cent of house sales fell through before completion in the third quarter of 2016, according to Quick Move Now.
 
The independent home buyer said that the six-month average fall through rate, which offers a greater overview and allows for seasonal peaks and troughs, also rose to 29.75%. This marks a rise of 4.57% since the end of the second quarter of 2016.
 
Danny Luke, Quick Move Now’s managing director, said: “Brexit has caused a great deal of uncertainty in the UK property market, and this uncertainty can be seen in the fall through rate figures.  A huge 44.44 percent of the sales that fell through did so because buyers changed their mind, which is reflective of the anxiety and lack of confidence that are currently present in the property market. 

“It also supports the verbal assessment that we’ve had from estate agents throughout the country, that many house sales collapsed as a result of buyers nervously pulling out of sales in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum result.”
 
Other reasons cited for house sales falling through include chain break, seller negotiating a better offer from another buyer, survey issues, difficulties securing mortgage finance, and buyer or seller pulling out because they felt the sale was progressing too slowly.