"In the first three months of 2025, difficulty obtaining a mortgage accounted for 35% of failed sales. In the last three months, it has been cited as the reason for 45% of failed sales"
- Danny Luke - Quick Move Now
The number of property sales falling through before completion rose sharply in the second quarter of 2025, with mounting mortgage difficulties cited as the primary cause.
According to figures from Quick Move Now, 41% of agreed property sales in Q2 failed to complete, an increase from 32% in the previous quarter. The data suggests that nearly half of these collapsed transactions (45%) were due to issues with mortgage approvals, highlighting the ongoing challenges buyers face in securing finance.
“Despite recent news about proposed changes that aim to make mortgages more accessible, difficulty securing a mortgage remains the dominant reason for property sales falling through before completion," explained Danny Luke, managing director at Quick Move Now. "In the first three months of 2025, difficulty obtaining a mortgage accounted for 35% of failed sales. In the last three months, it has been cited as the reason for 45% of failed sales.”
He added that the market has also seen a significant rise in the number of sales falling apart due to broken chains. In Q1, only 4% of failed transactions were attributed to chain breaks, but this jumped to 18% in Q2, suggesting increasing fragility in multi-party deals.
While lending issues and chain-related failures have worsened, one positive shift is the decline in buyers pulling out voluntarily. The percentage of transactions that collapsed because the buyer changed their mind dropped from 26% to 14% over the past quarter. Luke noted, “This suggests that buyers are more committed when they make an offer on a property, and failed sales are more likely to be caused by factors beyond the buyer’s control.”
Other contributing reasons included legal complications and miscellaneous problems, both accounting for 9% of fall-throughs. Meanwhile, in 5% of cases, sellers pulled out of deals after receiving a higher offer elsewhere.
Lenders' increased caution may be tied to recent house price trends. With growth slowing or reversing in some regions, there is greater scrutiny over perceived lending risk. Properties viewed as more volatile, or buyers with marginal profiles, may find it harder to secure mortgage offers.
Luke pointed out that while the economic backdrop remains uncertain, shaped by political instability and international conflicts, regulatory bodies are looking to widen access. “We’re living in a time of growing global uncertainty, and financial markets are susceptible to political uncertainty and international conflict,” he said.
“But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are making moves to widen access despite that uncertainty. Potential changes to mortgage lending rules and interest rate stress tests have the potential to make mortgage lending less of an obstacle when trying to successfully get a property purchase through to completion.”
