A survey conducted by the HomeOwners Alliance and IMMO.co.uk found that 20% of property sellers had experienced a sale collapse, with 51% incurring costs averaging £2,727.

Overall, 69% of home sales that fell through did so due to buyer-related reasons, including the buyer changing their mind/finding another property (39%) or the buyer’s finances not being in order (28%).

The survey also found that 8% of those that suffered a failed sale experienced gazundering, where the buyer lowered their offer just before the exchange of contracts.

Homeowners said that the risk of property chains breaking down (34%) and uncertainty regarding the sale price (19%) might prevent them from selling.

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“We often hear about would-be buyers losing their dream homes as a result of sellers accepting higher offers, but less is said about sellers forking out thousands in wasted fees only for buyers to change their mind, leaving the seller back at square one,” said Paula Higgins, chief executive at the HomeOwners Alliance.

Paula explained that gazundering and time wasting were a huge problem.

“The home-selling system is so unreliable it’s deterring homeowners from selling – adding to the ongoing housing shortage crisis as a lack of suitable homes is one of the barriers to people moving up the property ladder.

“Buyers need to have a little more skin in the game, too.

“An earlier commitment – for example, through reservation agreements – would go some way to avoiding these situations.”