The problem Alunio was built for
Why property deals fall through, and how to catch it earlier.
Around a quarter of agreed sales never complete. Very few of them fall through over price. Most are lost in the weeks when nobody was keeping an eye on the chain.
23.7%
Agreed UK sales that collapse before completion
£1B
Lost across the UK market every year to fall throughs
123 days
Average time from sale agreed to exchange
55%
Of a negotiator day now spent chasing the chain
Where deals are lost
The four most common reasons.
The buyer goes cold
The single largest cause is the buyer walking away. They lose their nerve, find another property, or just stop replying, and nothing has gone wrong on paper.
The mortgage offer expires
Offers have a date on them. A long transaction runs past it, the offer lapses, and the whole thing has to be put back together from a weaker position.
The solicitor stops replying
A conveyancer goes quiet for nine days and nobody notices until the buyer rings to ask why nothing has moved. By then the buyer has already started to worry.
The local authority search sits in a queue
In a slow borough a search can take weeks. The deal looks fine from the outside while it waits on a desk nobody at the agency can see.
Why Prime Central London is hit hardest
Longer chains and higher stakes.
A Prime Central London chain can run six to twelve months, far longer than the national average of 123 days from agreed to exchange. Sales in Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington involve long timelines, international buyers and more parties than almost anywhere else in the country. Every extra month and every extra party is another point where a deal can stall without anyone noticing.
The values make it worse. These are some of the most expensive homes in the world, so one collapse can wipe out a six figure commission that had already been earned. Negotiators now spend around 55% of the working day chasing the chain, and deals still slip through.
What Alunio does about it
Alunio flags the deal that has started to drift, while there is still time to save it.
Alunio is an AI deal progression engine for Prime Central London. It checks every live deal every hour, flags the one that has started to drift, and drafts the chase to the party holding it up so it is ready to send. You can read more about why it exists.
Apply for a founding seatCommon questions
What percentage of property sales fall through in the UK?
Around one in four agreed sales in the United Kingdom falls through before completion. Across the market that is close to a billion pounds a year lost on deals that had already been agreed.
Why do property chains break?
Chains rarely break over price. More often a solicitor stops replying, a mortgage offer gets close to expiry, or a local authority search sits in a queue for weeks. None of it is visible until the deal is already in trouble.
Why is Prime Central London worse for fall throughs?
Prime Central London chains run six to twelve months, far longer than the national average of 123 days from agreed to exchange. Longer timelines mean more parties and more handovers, and more points where a deal can stall without anyone noticing. The values are also among the highest in the world, so one collapse can cost a six figure commission.
How do you stop a sale from falling through?
Check every live deal regularly and act on the first sign of a stall rather than the last. That is what Alunio is for. It scores every live deal, flags the one that has started to drift, and drafts the chase to the party holding it up so it is ready to send.