London Failed Sales Analysis

18 July 2016 - Analysis

Propcision Analysis of London Housing Market

For the London housing market, data suggests:

On average approximately 5 percent of properties, having a sale agreed, fall through per week – this number can vary due to seasonal events and economic factors.

In the week of the Brexit vote, 23 June to 29 June, this figure rose to 8 percent for the week.

The following week, 30 June to 13 July, the figure continued to rise to 9.25 percent for the week.

To put this into context, in the run-up to the stamp duty deadline of 1 April 2016, the week of 17 March to 23 March, saw 9.7 percent of properties under offer fail. A potential explanation of the spike is that buyers using financing typically need to notify lender one week in advance of completion. If the sale looks as though it is not going to complete in time for the deadline, then buyers pulled out.