A survey commissioned by House Buyer Bureau suggests that property chains continue to be one of the most fragile parts of the UK housing market, with almost half of sellers who were involved in a chain saying a buyer pulled out somewhere along the line. The research, based on responses from 1,072 UK home sellers about the sale of their most recent property, found that 52% had been part of a chain and 45% of those had experienced a break.

The most common trigger was simple buyer hesitation. According to the findings reported by Today’s Conveyancer, 60% of chain breaks were caused by a buyer changing their mind and withdrawing, far ahead of mortgage or finance problems, which accounted for 8%. Issues uncovered in surveys made up 6%, while problems in the conveyancing or wider legal process were cited in 4% of cases. Gazumping was relatively rare at 2%, and mortgage lender down-valuations were responsible for just 1%.

The findings underline how vulnerable traditional property sales remain when several transactions are linked together. Buyer indecision appears to create more disruption than financing, surveys or legal issues, and one withdrawal can affect an entire chain. Sellers may lose the property they hoped to buy, face additional legal or mortgage costs and, in some cases, wait months before their move is back on track. The government’s official guide to selling a home explains the stages involved in a residential sale and the preparations sellers can make before putting a property on the market.

The disruption caused by a broken chain can be lengthy. More than a third of those affected saw their sale delayed, while nearly a quarter faced delays to the purchase they were relying on. Among those who eventually completed, only 7% did so within a month, while 38% took four to six months and 21% needed between seven and 12 months.

The government’s guide to buying a home explains the mortgage, survey, conveyancing, exchange and completion stages buyers must work through. Because each transaction in a property chain depends on the others progressing, a problem or withdrawal in one sale can delay or stop every connected move.

High-authority guidance from Halifax on property chains also explains that a collapsed transaction can affect everyone in the chain. Buyers and sellers may lose money already spent on legal work, mortgage arrangements and surveys, while also facing the uncertainty of putting a property back on the market or restarting their search.