Quarter of failed property sales blamed on gazumping

GAZUMPING is back after one in four house sales fell through this year – similar to the trend of the Eighties property boom.

It means heartache for would-be buyers who think they have bought their dream home only to find the seller has pulled out when a higher bid comes along.

In total, one in three (32 per cent) of sales in England and Wales fell through in the first three months of this year – 11 per cent more than the same period last year, which was pre-Covid.

But this figure is still lower than the 43 per cent failure rate of 2020 as a whole – suggesting more deals are going ahead as the market recovers – says property buying company Quick Move Now

Dodgy buyers and equally dodgy sellers are the biggest barriers to a successful completion.

And 37 per cent of sales that fell through were the result of “gazundering”, where an agreed sale collapses when the buyer comes in at the last minute trying to renegotiate a lower purchase price.

A further 25 per cent of deals do not go through because the buyer cannot secure a mortgage.

The rest are down to a variety of problems from buyers pulling out after a bad survey or because of slow progress or a change of mind.

Danny Luke, Quick Move Now managing director, said: “It’s hugely positive that the fall-through rate has dropped from the high rate we saw last year.

“We did see an exceptionally low fall-through rate in the final quarter of last year, so it’s not unexpected that we’ve seen a rise from that in the first quarter of 2021.” The end of 2020 saw a rush of transactions to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday before it ran out on March 31. But the Government extended the date to the end of June, meaning the initial rush has slowed down and more deals are falling through.

Danny Luke said: “Lender caution is also a clear factor, with eight per cent of all property sales being impacted by difficulty securing a mortgage.

“This is something I would expect to continue for some time, as lenders remain keen to ensure a secure position beyond the end of the stamp duty and furlough measures.”