I agree. Also, prospective buyers can be put off making an offer on a
house
they're keen on if they think it's gone. There used to be a 'Sold subject
to
contract' sticker which was attached to the For Sale board which gave some
indication of what was happening.

Mary



I guess the SSTC sticker gives people an indication that if they are
really serious about the property someone else has had an offer
accepted on then they should put in a decent offer to the estate agent
before all the legal stuff goes through....kind of a going, going,
gone situation.
It's also good publicity for the estate agent to show that they can
shift houses.

As for properties going back on the market, I've seen some people put
offers in for a couple of properties so it gives them a little extra
time to decide which one they really want...the SSTC sticker does put
some competitiors off, and once an offer is accepted then the agents
usually stop advertising it. A survey is fairly cheap, so they then
can have a leisurely survey done and make a final decision then. The
real problem here is that under English Law, the SSTC isn't a binding
contract on either side until contracts are exchanged.