News

Tenth of home sales halted by mortgage problems The Times July 09

Almost one in ten home sales falls through because buyers cannot obtain finance, a survey of members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) carried out for The Times has found.

The conclusion calls into question the effectiveness of the Government's strategy to revitalise the housing market. Estate agents and surveyors said that 9 per cent of agreed deals were collapsing- a picture that had not changed over the past three months. This confirmation of the continuing mortgage drought comes as interest in property purchase increases.

The Rightmove website yesterday reported its busiest week, with page views at 134 million in the week to July 11.

Agents said that one failed deal in ten was the mark of a good agent and that some would be experiencing a greater failure rate.

The transaction failure rate means some agents are submitting would-be buyers to financial health checks before considering their offers. David Smith of Carter Jones, said: "I would love to take people on trust but you need to check". He recently advised a seller who had received an offer on a £400,000 property not to instruct a solicitor until the buyer could prove that he would qualify for an 85 per cent loan-to-value advance.