Estate agents lose over £4,000 for every property sale that falls through

Estate agents lose an average of £4,123 for every property sale that falls through, according to new research released today from Propertymark.

Despite speculation of an extension being announced at next weeks’ Budget, the cliff edge created if the stamp duty holiday is extended until the end of June will cause a huge financial loss to the industry as many transactions will fall through if not completed by the deadline.

In partnership with award-winning strategic insight agency, Opinium, Propertymark surveyed its estate agent members from across the UK to reveal that failed sales are a problem for two in five (42 per cent) businesses, with a further 24 per cent stating they are a substantial problem. The vast majority of agents (82 per cent) say the loss of revenue has the biggest impact on their business, followed by the waste of human resources (61 per cent).

In the last year, an average of 17 sales have not completed per estate agent branch, however this figure could rise as data forecasts that more than 325,000 households will miss the stamp duty deadline if not extended, forcing buyers to withdraw their offers due to the additional costs.

Failed property transactions also have a costly impact on the consumer, resulting in them losing £1,571 on average.

Mark Hayward, Chief Policy Advisor, Propertymark, comments:

“We have continually called on government to rethink the timings of the stamp duty deadline and the recent speculation of an extension will be good news for the sector. However, extending the holiday until June will create another cliff edge and purely push back the increase in the number of failed sales as we approach the new deadline. We need Government to consider a tapered end to the holiday so that buyers aren’t forced to pull out at the last minute and the property market can continue to thrive.”

Kindly shared by Propertymark

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay