1 in 5 Sales Fell Through in Q2 Due to Buyer’s Remorse
Buyer’s remorse is a wretched feeling, especially when it comes to property.
Such an expensive, long-term commitment rarely comes without butterflies fluttering around the stomach, so it’s no surprise that sales often fall-through due to cold feet, second guessing and anxiety.
Throw into the mix a limited time offer, such as the Stamp Duty holiday, and you can add impulse purchases and slow progress to the reasons buyers have for calling things off before the sale gets over the line.
Quick Move Now has reported that the fall-through rate in Q2of 2021 peaked at 39%, making the year-to-date average 38%.
Despite a similar fall-through rate, the key difference between the two quarters is the reasoning given by would-be homebuyers. In Q1, only 12% of fall-throughs was due to buyers trying to reduce their offer or getting cold feet. In Q2, this almost doubled to 22%. Similarly, in Q1, only 4% cited slow progress as being the main reason; a figure which almost tripled to 11% in Q2.
The Stamp Duty holiday seems to be a major reason for this, with the allure of savings tempting people into buying a new home, only to have second-thoughts further down the line, while the bottle-necking of sales also gave buyers time and reason to reconsider, due to delays in the conveyancing process.
During the early days of the pandemic, we identified conveyancing as an area overdue widespread digitalisation. This led to us deploying Spaciable Legal earlier this year, as a new feature on our award-winning portal. Spaciable Legal enables buyers to request quotes from conveyancers, view search results and pay fees through the system, while developers and solicitors can track updates and milestones, carry out ID and anti-money laundering checks, and exchange contracts, using one platform. The accessible tool minimises delays and speeds up many stages of the process through automation, thereby helping developers push through more sales with minimum admin and effort on their part.
Tellingly, in this context, the tool has been reported to reduce fall-throughs by a massive 75%, by improving the transparency of the process, streamlining tasks and keeping buyers motivated. Along with the other features available through Spaciable, the portal helps developers provide an elite customer experience that reduces buyer remorse.
While sales are likely to level out somewhat now the Stamp Duty holiday is being phased out, the length of time taken to buy a new home is one of most common complaints levied against the industry. With tools like Spaciable Legal, that doesn’t need to be the case – developers can sell knowing their time and money is safe, and customers can buy with confidence in their decision.
