The number of property fall-throughs increased by 9.8% during Q1 2026, resulting in an additional £20.9m in costs to the housing market quarter-on-quarter, the House Buyer Bureau has revealed.

The bureau’s latest Fall-Through Index, which analyses data from TwentyCi, found that an estimated 67,489 property transactions collapsed during Q1, marking an almost 10% quarterly increase.

Despite this, fall-through volumes were 12.1% lower than in Q1 2025.

As a result of the increase, the estimated costs of fall-throughs to the UK housing market climbed from £218.3m in Q4 2025 to £239.2m in Q1 2026.

The Home Buyer Bureau said that while the frequency of fall-throughs increased, the estimated average cost incurred by sellers saw a marginal quarterly reduction.

The data shows that the average cost of a fall-through stood at an estimated £3,544 in Q1, marking a 0.2% reduction quarter-on-quarter, although this figure has increased by 2.1% in the last 12 months.

The bureau said the latest figures suggest that while sellers faced a slightly lower individual cost when a transaction collapsed, the higher number of fall-through has once again increased the overall financial burden placed on the housing market.

Managing director at House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, said that it is "disappointing to see the number of collapsed transactions move back in the wrong direction" in the opening months of 2026.

He concluded: "Whilst the average financial hit associated with a failed sale has remained broadly stable, it's the increase in the number of transactions falling apart that is the real concern. Every fall-through represents wasted time, uncertainty, and additional expense for those involved, particularly sellers who often find themselves having to restart the process from scratch.

"The challenge is that many of the factors driving fall-throughs remain difficult to control. Affordability pressures, changing buyer circumstances, and wider economic uncertainty can all derail a transaction at the last minute.

"As a result, certainty continues to be a key priority for many homeowners. For a growing number of sellers, reducing the risk of a sale collapsing is becoming just as important as achieving the highest possible price."

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