Material Information could prevent agents £357.4m a year

Market insight from Material Information and digital property pack provider, Moverly, suggests that the proper implementation of Material Information across the estate agency sector could reduce the amount of lost or delayed commission due to fall throughs to the tune of £357.4m per year.

Moverly looked at the number of fall throughs that take place across the property market on a quarterly basis, as well as the total amount of estate agent fees either lost or delayed as a result of these sellers having to return to square one.

According to TwentyCI, 64,865 sales fell through across the UK market during the first quarter of this year alone. With estate agents earning £3,975 on the sale of the average home in the current market*, that’s a total of £257.9m in commission either lost, or at best delayed, until a new buyer is found.

The figures from Moverly show that in 2023 alone, almost £1,1bn was lost or delayed in commission due to the number of fall throughs across the UK market.

While fall throughs are unfortunately inevitable, there are steps that can be taken to minimise the potential of a sale collapsing. One such step is the proper provision of Material and Upfront Information early in the process. This provides agents, vendors, buyers and conveyancers alike, with better insight to the potential issues posed when purchasing a property and the opportunity to resolve issues earlier.

Figures from Moverly show that not only does the provision of Upfront Information allow for transactions to complete up to 70% quicker, but it also reduces the chances of a sale collapsing by a third.

If estate agents across the UK were to embrace Material and Upfront Information fully, this could have reduced the fees lost or delayed during the first quarter of 2024 by £85.9m.

Over the course of 2023, reducing fall throughs by a third would have also seen agents benefit to the tune of £357.4m in fees that weren’t lost or delayed as a result of transactions collapsing.

Gemma Young, Moverly CEO, says:

“With the introduction of NTSELAT guidelines, agents now have a concrete framework to work towards with respect to Material Information. This provides them with a firm foundation upon which they can drive sector standards forward, whilst, at the same time, reducing the propensity for transactions to fall through

Moverly’s mission is to support agents to deliver Material and Upfront Information with greater ease and without adding to their already substantial workload. In turn, Moverly works to connect the key stakeholders in the property transaction to the vital information which helps other stakeholders to progress towards exchange and completion.

In embracing this, agents will not only be able to offer quicker transaction times to their sellers, this in turn will also reduce the amount of commission that is either lost or delayed as a result of fall throughs.”

Data tables