"The home selling system is so unreliable it’s deterring homeowners from selling – adding to the ongoing housing shortage crisis"
The survey found that 20% of sellers have experienced a sale collapse, with 51% incurring costs averaging £2,727 and 12% losing more than £5,000.
Overall, more than two thirds (69%) of the home sales that fell through did so because of buyer related reasons, including the buyer changing their mind/finding another property (39%) and the buyer’s finances not being in order (28%).
Nearly one in ten sellers (8%) with a failed sale have experienced 'gazundering', where the buyer lowered their offer just before the exchange of contracts.
34% of homeowners say risks of property chains breaking down might prevent them from selling, followed by a further 19% who are uncertain about the sale price they may get for their property.
The research comes after the government announced plans to improve the home buying and selling process with a number of measures, including the introduction of voluntary reservation agreements.
These legally binding agreements would require both buyers and sellers to put down a non-refundable deposit to commit both sides earlier in the process.
Among UK adults, 80% would like to see buyers show proof of funds before being able to put an offer to buy a property. In addition, 65% of UK adults support the idea of a reservation agreement requiring buyers and sellers to put down a non-refundable deposit to commit both sides earlier in the process.
Paula Higgins, chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance, said: “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, added: “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.”
