One in three sales collapse, with mortgage lenders the biggest cause

Just under a third of property sales fell through before completion in the first three months of 2025, with ‘difficulty securing a mortgage’ cited as the most common reason for the failed sales.

The data suggests that 32% of property sales fell through before completion with a third of those attributed to difficulty securing a mortgage.

Other reasons for failed sales were buyers changing their minds due to the amount of work required or survey report (26%), a change in buyer circumstances (17%), buyers unsuccessfully attempting to renegotiate the purchase price (13%), sellers receiving a higher offer and changing buyers (5%), and chain-break (4%).

Danny Luke of Quick Move Now – the firm which commissioned the data – says:

“News about mortgages has been largely positive recently, so the public may be surprised to hear that people are struggling to get mortgages. 

“However, growing global political and financial uncertainty are undoubtedly having an impact on mortgage lenders’ appetite for risk. It’s difficult to predict what will happen to interest rates, inflation and employment rates in the short to medium term, and therefore lenders are wise to exercise increased caution in assessing the risk associated with each mortgage application. 

“The data also suggests that it is not just lenders who are cautious, with the second most common reason for failed sales being the buyer deciding the property requires too much work. With finances increasingly squeezed, buyers are having to let their heads rule their hearts and make wise financial decisions about where to invest their money. This is also evidenced by 17% of failed sales being attributed to buyers unsuccessfully attempting to renegotiate the purchase price.

“There is reason for hope, however, as it seems there is strong demand for desirable properties. Our data shows that 5% of failed sales were attributed to the seller pulling out after receiving a higher offer. This suggests buyers are not shy about making an offer on the property they want, even if it’s already under offer.”

Kindly shared by  Estate Agent Today  Picture courtesy of Adobe