Fall-throughs doubled last month and could rise further - claim

Fall-throughs doubled in the first two weeks of October compared with a month before, analysis claims.

Chain-breaking service UPSTIX, which conducted the research based on portal and its own data, is warning that the increased caution in the market could mean more sales collapse.

Phil Tennant, chief operating officer for UPSTIX, said preserving chains should be seen as a more immediate concern than worrying about whether house prices are going to collapse.

He said: “The crash likely won’t be quite as severe as the 16% fall in prices the market experienced in 2008.

“For one, household debt as a percentage of disposable income has steadily decreased since the financial crisis, according to official figures. 

“Banks have been less trigger happy handing out risky mortgages to those they think can’t afford it. There’s a smaller risk of mass defaults and the wider economic chaos this causes. 

“However hard the fall will be, it has nevertheless had a huge impact on consumer confidence in the here and now. Many are holding off buying or selling until there’s a clearer picture of where the market is headed.

“One of the problems that has plagued the British housing market – broken property chains – is only set to get worse.”

He highlighted that one in five property chains already collapse, adding: “With the increased hesitancy in the market driven by unpredictability, mortgage unaffordability, shifting valuations, or simply cost of living calculations, this proportion is only going to increase.”

Tennant added that everyone involved in a property transaction has an incentive to ensure plans proceed as intended and agents should make use of their negotiating skills as well as proptech and quick buy firms that can help rescue chain.

He said: “We may not know how badly affected the housing market will be in the short- and medium-term, but those currently part way through the buying or selling process can at least rest assured that the means exist for these transactions to complete, even in a cool market.”