Nearly 70,000 transactions failed in the second quarter, costing around £3,400.

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of the House Buyer Bureau, said: "It was almost inevitable that transaction volumes would climb this year, and at a time when money is already stretched to the limit, they have done so at considerable cost to buyers and sellers across the country."

In terms of transaction volumes, the market may have cooled down, which has resulted in fewer annual transactions than during the height of the pandemic.

But the current state of the market is uncertain, to say the least, and many homebuyers are struggling to cope with rising mortgage costs that are forcing them to reassess their position in the market.

This is one of the reasons why sales collapsed in the second quarter of this year and the best way to sidestep this property disappointment is to secure a cash buyer, as this greatly reduces the risk of failure.

But that's easier said than done, as our recent research found that cash buyers accounted for just 31 per cent of sales across the UK last year.

The good news is that with the Bank of England finally opting to freeze interest rates last week, we should see a greater degree of stability return to the market as we close out the year.

Whilst this quarter has been disappointing, it is worth noting that the current transaction rate is still lower than the same period last year.

The number of failed deals is now -10.4% lower than this time last year, while the total cost of failed deals is -5.9% lower.