The YouGov survey commissioned by House Buyer Bureau asked home sellers - When selling their last property, what were the main problems they faced?
Speed is the biggest property selling gripe
There were two prominent issues and both related to the speed of the overall process. The biggest issue facing today’s home sellers was the frequent delays faced during the transaction timeline, which meant that the overall process was far slower than they anticipated.
They also cited the speed of their solicitor or conveyancer as an issue, saying they were slow to get things done during the final stages of the transaction.
In fact, these two issues consistently ranked top when analysing the results based on gender, age and region.
What else could be improved?
The third biggest issue was that they felt their estate agent didn’t put much effort into selling their home. Many also felt the property market itself was slower than anticipated which caused issues, along with the fact that their property sale fell through more than once.
Some felt that their agent had advised them to set their asking price too high and in order to sell they had to reduce it.
Gazundering and buyers withdrawing due to financial issues were also an issue, along with down valuations.
Chris Hodgkinson, Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, commented: “We currently find ourselves in the middle of a property market boom and each and every week, sellers are being subjected to headlines stating how property stock is flying off the shelves and house prices are climbing to new heights.
"This is causing many to enter the market with unrealistic expectations as to how quickly they will sell and while they may secure an offer at an incredibly swift pace, they are still subject to the same processes required to get their sale over the line.
"Unfortunately, this process can be a tad protracted and it may feel like it’s taking forever, but in many cases, it’s certainly not due to a lack of effort on the side of your agent or solicitor.”
