Property prices are down 1% and it is now taking an average of 216 days to complete. Lenders are clearly being more cautious and solicitors might be slowed down by this extra due-diligence. I know with 2 of mine going through at the moment, the lenders are asking for Belt and Braces.
One Pearl of Wisdom from Jamie recently is that the lender typically owns 75% of the property and you only 25%, so it is more theirs than yours. For this reason, they are doing more due diligence for their own sakes. In other words, each property is a business proposition, and you need to convince them it is viable.