THE number of house sales failing to successfully complete in the South West is less than the national average, with 27 per cent of house sales falling through in the region in the past 12 months, according to data released today by the UK’s largest independent home buyer, Quick Move Now.

Quick Move Now also released figures for the annual year-to-date fall through, which offers an overview of how the property market is performing generally, allowing for seasonal peaks and troughs.

The year-to-date national fall through rate remained fairly constant throughout 2015 and into the start of 2016, at around 29 per cent, and finished the first quarter of 2016 at 29.07 per cent.

Figures indicate a national house sale fall through rate of 20 per cent for the first quarter of 2016, a drop of just under eight per cent from the reported 27.94 per cent in the last quarter of 2015.

Danny Luke, business manager at Quick Move Now, commented: “The start of 2016 has been an interesting time for the UK property market.

“Strong demand and low supply in many areas of the country has led to a strong financial performance, and whilst it is encouraging to see that the number of sales falling through before completion fell in the first three months of 2016, many property owners and would-be buyers would still be shocked to learn that one in five sales doesn’t go through.

He continued: “The two biggest reasons why house sales didn’t complete in the first quarter of 2016 were the vendor pulling out of the sale for a higher offer (25 per cent) and either vendor or buyer pulling out because they felt the sale wasn’t progressing quickly enough (25 per cent), which is unsurprising in the current market.

“With many areas experiencing very strong demand and low supply, vendors are keen to achieve the best possible price for their property so are willing to pull out of an agreed sale if made a better offer.

“Other reasons included the buyer changing their mind (18.75 per cent), buyer being refused lending by a mortgage provider (12.5 per cent), chain collapse (6.25 per cent), survey issues (6.25 per cent) and buyer wanting to renegotiate after the initial offer had been accepted (6.25 per cent).

“A lack of properties coming to market has led to prospective buyers having to move very quickly in order to secure a property, and may mean they put an offer in on a less than ideal property due to fear that they’ll be unable to find anything else.

"This accounts for buyers changing their minds and trying to renegotiate after the initial offer has been accepted – a collective figure of 25 per cent.

“Some inevitably get cold feet about such a large investment, or find that a survey confirms their fears, and pull out before the sale has been completed.”