Fall-throughs hit housing market for £1bn annually
The latest Fall-Through Index by the House Buyer Bureau has revealed that the number of fall-throughs in the UK fell by -25% in the final quarter of 2025, but the estimated total cost incurred still stood at £218.3m in those three months alone, pushing the total cost for the year to over £1bn.
House Buyer Bureau analysed the latest data from TwentyCI on the estimated volume of UK residential fall-throughs in Q4 2025 (latest available), along with the average cost of a failed transaction, which was calculated in line with inflation, estimated legal fee increases, and adjusted based on the latest house price data, before estimating the total cost of these fall-throughs to the market*.
The analysis shows that some 61,488 transactions collapsed during the final quarter of last year, marking a significant reduction of -25.1% from the previous quarter, and an annual drop of -12.9%.
However, HBB’s research shows that the estimated cost of a fall-through sat at £3,550 in Q4 2025, up 0.3% versus the previous quarter and 3.4% higher versus a year ago.
Despite this increased individual cost, the overall quarterly cost of fall-throughs to the market has reduced due to the lower frequency.
Q4’s total estimated fall-through cost of £218.3m marks a quarterly decline of -24.8%, and an annual drop of -9.9%. It does, however, remain a hugely expensive figure for a market already dealing with vast uncertainty from external economic pressures.
In fact, the total cost of fall-throughs endured by the housing market in Q4 pushed the total cost for 2025 beyond the £1bn mark, with fall-throughs costing the market an estimated £1,065bn over the course of 2025.
Managing director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “Whilst it’s encouraging to see a notable reduction in the number of fall-throughs, the reality is that they remain a significant and costly issue for sellers, both financially and emotionally. Even with volumes down, over £218m lost in a single quarter underlines just how disruptive collapsed transactions continue to be, with a huge £1bn lost annually.
For many sellers, a fall-through doesn’t just mean additional legal and administrative costs, it often results in lost time, missed onward purchases, and the need to re-enter an already uncertain market. In today’s climate, where economic pressures, affordability constraints, and buyer hesitation are all at play, that risk feels more pronounced than ever.
As a result, we’re seeing a significant number of sellers prioritise certainty over maximising price, opting for routes that can guarantee a sale and remove the risk of a deal collapsing at the last minute. In a market where confidence remains fragile, the ability to secure a reliable outcome is becoming an increasingly important factor in how people choose to sell their home.”
Data tables and sources
- Estimated number of fall-throughs sourced from TwentyCI (Q4 2025).
- Estimated cost of fall-throughs sourced from Mortgage Strategy, HOA, Local Conveyancing, Which?, and HSE.
- Estimated average cost of fall-through based on legal fees, latest house price data, and inflation adjustments.
- Average house price data sourced from the UK House Price Index (Jan 2026 latest available)
- Total estimated cost based on the volume multiplied by the adjusted average cost.
- View full data tables and sources online here.