My buyer wants to exchange but I haven't found a house

Your buyer is ready. Their mortgage is agreed, their solicitor has what they need, and the message coming down the line is that they want a date. You have not found anywhere to go. It feels like you are the problem in the chain, and that feeling is what pushes sellers into agreeing to things they should not agree to.

You are not the problem. What you are is one link in a chain that has not finished forming yet, and that is normal at this stage.

What does exchanging contracts actually commit me to?

Exchange of contracts is the point where the sale becomes legally binding on both sides. Once contracts are exchanged, you are required to hand over the property on the agreed completion date, and pulling out after that point carries real financial consequences.

Completion is the separate, later day when the money moves and the keys change hands. The gap between the two is agreed in advance, and it is the gap that gives you room to work with.

That is why exchanging on your sale with nowhere to go is a genuine risk rather than a technicality. You would be legally bound to be out, with no legal right to be anywhere else.

Is it normal to exchange before I've found somewhere?

No. In a chain, solicitors usually arrange for every link to exchange at the same moment, so nobody is left committed to a sale without a purchase. A request to exchange ahead of the rest of the chain is a request for you to carry a risk your buyer is not carrying.

Timing helps here too. Connells Group research published on 11 May 2026 found the average time from an offer being accepted to exchange of contracts in Great Britain was 104 days in April 2026, up from 76 days in April 2019. A buyer asking to exchange within a few weeks of the offer is moving well ahead of the market's normal pace.

What are my options right now?

Renting is the option most sellers dismiss first and reconsider last. It costs money and involves two moves. It also turns you into a buyer with cash and no chain, which is the strongest position in the market and often worth more at the negotiating table than the rent costs you.

What should I do this week?

1. 1. Tell your buyer where you actually are

   Say plainly that you have not found your onward property yet and that you are looking actively. A buyer who knows the position can plan around it. A buyer who is guessing assumes the worst and starts looking at other houses.

2. 2. Ask your agent what the rest of the chain is doing

   Find out whether your buyer has a chain below them and how far along each link is. If nobody below you is ready either, the pressure on you is not real and the conversation changes immediately.

3. 3. Give your buyer a timeframe rather than a promise

   Something specific and honest holds a sale together better than reassurance. Telling them you will review the position in four weeks is a commitment you can keep, unlike telling them it will all be fine.

4. 4. Instruct your solicitor and get your paperwork done now

   Fill in the property forms, dig out the guarantees and building regulation certificates, and get the legal pack ready. This costs little, shows the buyer you are serious, and means the sale can move fast the moment you find a property.

5. 5. Widen the search before you widen the risk

   Add a street, a postcode, or a property type to your criteria before you consider exchanging with nowhere to go. Off-market and just-listed properties come through local agents first, so tell every agent in your area exactly what you are looking for.

6. 6. Price the rental option properly

   Get a real figure for six months of rent, storage, and a second move. Compare that number with what you would lose by starting the sale again in a slower market. Knowing the figure means you can choose rather than react.

7. 7. Refuse an early exchange unless you have somewhere to go

   A long completion date is not protection. If you exchange with no onward purchase, you are contractually required to leave on that date whether or not you have found anywhere. Only agree to that if renting is a decision you have already made.

What if my buyer says they'll pull out?

Some will. Most do not, and the ones who threaten it earliest are often the ones with the most invested in your property. Before you change your position, look at what they have actually spent.

• A buyer who has instructed and paid a solicitor, ordered searches, and had a survey done has real money committed and does not want to start again either.
• A buyer who has done none of those things has spent nothing, and their impatience is not backed by anything you can rely on.
• A buyer whose mortgage offer is running down has a genuine deadline, and that is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing.

Read the commitment, not the tone. What someone has paid for tells you more about their intentions than what they say in a phone call to your agent.

A long completion date is not a safety net. Exchange is the promise, and you should only make it once you know where you are going.

How risky is it to lose this buyer?

Worth knowing, and worth keeping in proportion. The same Connells Group research found that 37% of agreed sales in 2025 did not complete, and that 23% of those collapses came more than three months after the sale was agreed, up from 18% in 2019. Sales fall apart at this stage all the time, for reasons that have nothing to do with you.

The market context matters too. Zoopla's House Price Index published on 30 June 2026 reported buyer enquiries running around 15% below last year and sales agreed down 7%, with the average UK house price at £271,900 and annual growth of 1.4%. Rightmove's House Price Index for July 2026 added to that picture, with average asking prices down 1% over the month to £372,359. Buyers are more selective than they were, so a committed buyer has value. That is a reason to communicate well, not a reason to sign something binding you cannot deliver on.

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, so a seller can see the full picture before making a decision rather than after it. The instruction, the timeline, and the choice of agent all belong to you. Sellers and buyers never pay.