Material Information could prevent agents losing £357.4m a year – claim

Proper implementation of material Information across the estate agency sector could reduce the amount of lost or delayed commission due to fall throughs to the tune of £357.4m per year, research suggests.

Upfront information provider Moverly looked at the number of fall throughs that take place across the property market on a quarterly basis, as well as the total amount of estate agent fees either lost or delayed as a result of these sellers having to return to square one.

According to TwentyCI, 64,865 sales fell through across the UK market during the first quarter of this year alone. With estate agents earning £3,975 on the sale of the average home in the current market – based on an average fee of 1.42%.

That’s a total of £257.9m in commission either lost, or at best delayed, until a new buyer is found.

Figures from Moverly show that in 2023 alone, almost £1,1bn was lost or delayed in commission due to the number of fall throughs across the UK market.

Moverly, perhaps unsurprisingly, says providing more information upfront can help reduce delays and avoid fall-throughs.

Its research suggests transactions can be 70% quicker when there is upfront information.

If estate agents across the UK were to embrace material and upfront Information fully, this could have reduced the fees lost or delayed during the first quarter of 2024 by £85.9m, Moverly claims.

Over the course of 2023, reducing fall throughs by a third would have also seen agents benefit to the tune of £357.4m in fees that weren’t lost or delayed as a result of transactions collapsing.

Gemma Young, chief executive of Moverly, said: "With the introduction of Trading Standards guidelines, agents now have a concrete framework to work towards with respect to material Information. This provides them with a firm foundation upon which they can drive sector standards forward, whilst, at the same time, reducing the propensity for transactions to fall through.”