More than one in four property sales fell through in England and Wales between July and September this year, according to new figures. Property company Quick Move Now suggests that 29% of property sales fell through before completion in the third quarter of this year. With each failed sale costing an estimated £3,370, the company estimates that failed sales could cost the public as much as £900m each year.

The main cause of unsuccessful property sales during the last three months has been the buyer having difficulty securing a mortgage. This accounted for 40% of collapsed sales.

A further 27% of failed property sales were caused by the buyer changing their mind or unsuccessfully attempting to renegotiate the agreed sale price. The remaining lost sales were attributed to chain break (14%), gazumping (12%) and survey issues (7%).

However, Quick Move Now’s managing director, Danny Luke, commented: “Whilst the latest fall-through rate is 2% higher than the same quarter last year, it is 10% lower than the third quarter of 2022 and significantly lower than the peak we saw in Q1 2023. This demonstrates how much the market has settled after the economic uncertainty of the last few years.”