How many sale agreeds fall through?

Smythe

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Of houses which go to the 'sale agreed' stage, what percentage of these deals fall through and don't proceed to the 'sold' stage?

Thanks.
 
"Sale Agreed" is a meaningless term / status invented by EAs to stick on "For Sales" signs to show an interest, real or imagined, in a property.

What I think you need is a statistic that shows the conversion rate from "expressions of interest" to "completed".
 
"Sale Agreed" is a meaningless term / status invented by EAs to stick on "For Sales" signs to show an interest, real or imagined, in a property.

That’s not my experience.

‘’Sale Agreed’’ means the Auctioneer having satisfied himself that the purchaser has sufficient funds, has agreed to sell for €xxxxx. Contracts are not yet signed, either party can pull out at this stage.

The Auctioneer should no longer actively market the property, though admittedly there is always the unscrupulous ones.

Following a structural survey and the buyers solicitor checking title deeds and contract etc, both parties sign contracts, it is then ‘’Sold’’
 
Following the logic in your post, you seem to agree that nothing is agreed until contracts are signed.

Sale Agreed is a meaningless term / status used as a marketing ploy by EAs, IME as both a buyer and a seller.
 
The sale is agreed usually subject to satisfactory survey and legal checks, it’s not legally binding until contracts are signed.

Possibly my many experiences as a buyer and seller have been different to yours, but I always found ‘’Sale Agreed’’ had meaning.
 
Following the logic in your post, you seem to agree that nothing is agreed until contracts are signed.

Sale Agreed is a meaningless term / status used as a marketing ploy by EAs, IME as both a buyer and a seller.


+1
Agree fully with you, totally meaningless, brought about by EA's along with that other totally meaningless "booking deposit".
 
... Whenever I see a 'sale agreed' sign I take it as given that a contractual agreement has been reached between the buyer and seller and the property in question is no longer available.

What alternative would you suggest? .....
"Sold!" based on what you say above :)

... I did read somewhere once that 30% don't reach the end stage for any number of reasons usually banks don't lend the required sum, the buyer may see a better house, the survey may show up defective issues that's going to cost a lot of money to remedy, the seller may be just testing the market or people simple change their minds.
or "Oooh, they've all gone 'Sale Agreed' according to EA's board".
 
Mathepac, would I be far off the mark if I thought there wasn't much love lost between you and EA's?
:)

BTW I have no great graw for them either.


Cashiers post would tend to promote the idea that "Sale Agreed" indicates SOLD ie. contracts done and dusted.
Where in reality it is anything but!
 
Spot on @Sparkrite, my prejudices must be showing, but then I'm nothing if not transparent :)

IME they are at best an inconvenience and at worst an obstruction to conducting business as a buyer or a seller, seeming only to serve their own purposes.
 
There are three categories

For Sale - no offer has yet been accepted on the property
Sale Agreed - an offer has been accepted but contracts have not been exchanged, so it might fall through
Sold - contracts have been exchanged, so the sale will definitely proceed

I have little respect for estate agents, but they do not put up Sale Agreed signs unless the sale has actually been agreed. Why would they do this? Their job is to generate as much buyer interest as possible. Most people will not make an enquiry about a house which has gone "sale agreed".

While it has no legal significance, it is very meaningful. It means that the buyer and the seller have a agreed a deal.

So back to the original question. How many sale agreeds fall through?

I have no idea. But I would say that the majority of them are due to the buyer being unwilling to complete the purchase due to the survey or just because they have changed their minds. A minority would be due to the seller changing their mind - either because they want to stay in the house or because they have received a higher offer from someone else.

So what should a house hunter do if they see a "sale agreed" sign? They should contact the auctioneer and let them know that they are interested if the sale falls through. Sometimes, the auctioneer and the seller don't want to put the house back on the market publicly and so they might go to the underbidder or to a newcomer.
 
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