SWINDON, UK. July 28th, 2026 – Fresh data published by TwentyCi this week showed that the number of UK house sales collapsing before completion is falling, but it didn’t say why. New data from Quick Move Now, the UK’s original property buying company and quick house sale service provider, fills that gap by revealing which issues are driving failed sales in Q2 2026.
TwentyCi’s Q2 2026 Property & Homemover Report found that the number of sales falling through fell 8.7% year-on-year, with 23.4% of listings experiencing at least one fall-through so far in 2026, down from 24.4% in the same period last year. Quick Move Now’s own Q2 2026 data, which tracks the reasons behind its failed sales, shows a similar picture and points to exactly where the remaining risk in the system is concentrated.
What’s causing sales to collapse in Q2 2026?
According to Quick Move Now’s Q2 2026 data tracking UK property fall-through reasons:
Reason | Share of Q2 2026 fall-throughs
Buyer refused a mortgage/lending fell through – 33%
Survey issues highlighted – 27%
Chain break – 13%
Change in buyer’s circumstances – 13%
Legal issues – 13%
Two things stand out from the breakdown:
1. Mortgage and lending problems remain the single biggest cause of collapsed sales, accounting for a third of all failed. This aligns with TwentyCi’s commentary on continued volatility in mortgage pricing and fixed rates returning above 5% for many borrowers during the quarter.
2. Survey issues are the second-biggest cause, at over a quarter of all fall-throughs. A survey can throw up problems for all sorts of reasons, from structural issues to a valuation coming in lower than the agreed price, but whatever the trigger, it’s clearly a significant hurdle that a meaningful share of sales aren’t getting past.
Notably absent from the breakdown this quarter are gazumping and buyers simply changing their minds, both common causes of failed sales in a more volatile market, suggesting that buyers who do commit to a purchase in the current climate are, on the whole, seeing it through.
Danny Luke, Quick Move Now’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“TwentyCi’s figures tell us fewer sales are falling through, but our data explains why. Right now, it isn’t buyers getting cold feet or losing out to a higher bidder; it’s the fundamentals. A third of our failed sales come down to buyers simply not being able to get a mortgage over the line, and more than a quarter fall over once a survey has been done.
“That’s a good reminder for sellers: a sale is only as strong as the price it’s built on. Homes that are priced sensibly from the outset, in line with what they’re realistically worth, are far less likely to run into problems once a survey or valuation happens. Getting that right at the start is still the single biggest thing a seller can do to make sure their sale actually completes.”