Buying and selling a home should be one of life’s most exciting milestones. Yet for many people in England, it becomes one of the most stressful. According to Rightmove, the average property transaction currently takes around 170 days from offer to completion, with more than one in five transactions falling through before they ever reach the finish line. Behind every one of those statistics are buyers and sellers who have invested months of their lives, thousands of pounds and an enormous amount of emotional energy, only to find themselves back at square one.
It is little wonder, then, that the Government has announced one of the biggest overhauls of the home buying and selling process in decades. The proposed reforms include digital property logbooks, upfront sales packs, digital identity verification, electronic signatures, AI-assisted conveyancing, earlier binding agreements and proposals for mandatory qualifications for estate agents. If implemented successfully, the Government believes these changes could reduce transaction times by around four weeks, save first-time buyers an average of £650, and significantly reduce the number of sales that collapse before completion.
Having had the privilege of taking part in the consultation process through Propertymark, attending one of the roundtable discussions alongside fellow industry professionals and discussing these proposals at regional executive meetings last year, I have seen first-hand just how much work has gone into understanding where the current system is failing consumers.
One thing became abundantly clear throughout those discussions: everyone recognises that the current system is simply too slow, too fragmented and no longer fit for purpose.
The impact stretches far beyond the individual buyer or seller. The Government estimates that failed transactions cost sellers around £400 million every year, whilst the wider economic impact reaches as much as £1.5 billion annually. Rightmove has also estimated that fall-throughs resulted in around £900 million in lost Stamp Duty receipts and estate agency commission last year alone. These are staggering figures and demonstrate that improving the home-moving process isn’t simply about making life easier for buyers and sellers; it’s about creating a more efficient housing market and reducing unnecessary financial waste.
As a buying agent, I perhaps experience these frustrations from a slightly different perspective. Every day I represent buyers, guiding them through transactions, solving problems as they arise and helping them navigate what can often become a very complicated process. Sitting around the table with a Government representative and other industry professionals was particularly valuable because I could contribute practical examples from the very people these reforms are ultimately designed to help.
One of the proposals that excites me most is the introduction of digital property logbooks and upfront sales packs. Rather than crucial information only becoming available several weeks, or even months, into a transaction, much of it would be gathered before a property is even launched onto the market. Buyers should have access to far more information from the outset, allowing them to make informed decisions earlier, whilst solicitors, lenders and other professionals can begin their work much sooner.
Statistics explain why reform is needed. Real-life transactions explain how these problems occur.
Throughout my career, I have encountered countless examples where simple upfront due diligence could have saved everyone involved significant time, money and frustration.
I once represented buyers who only discovered restrictive covenants affecting the property after solicitors had begun reviewing the original title deeds. The homeowners themselves had no idea these restrictions existed, yet by that stage my clients had already commissioned surveys and incurred legal costs before deciding whether the issue was something they were prepared to accept.
On another occasion, everyone involved believed the property owner also owned the driveway. It wasn’t until the legal work commenced that it became apparent ownership was unclear and the land had never actually been registered correctly. What initially appeared to be a straightforward purchase quickly became considerably more complicated.
In another memorable transaction, a homeowner had sadly lost their partner several years earlier but had never completed the probate process. The estate agent had not been informed before marketing the property, meaning it was only once solicitors became involved that everyone realised probate still needed to be obtained before the sale could proceed. A transaction that buyers expected to progress normally suddenly became significantly delayed.
These are exactly the kinds of issues that should be identified before a property reaches the market. Whilst no process will ever eliminate every obstacle, presenting buyers with this information upfront should dramatically reduce unexpected surprises further down the line.
One point I raised during the consultation discussions was that better upfront information won’t simply speed up conveyancing, it should also improve decision-making. As buying agents, we often identify potential issues before our clients incur significant costs because we know which questions to ask. A digital property logbook will never replace experienced professional advice, but it should allow many of those conversations to happen before buyers have commissioned surveys, instructed solicitors or become emotionally invested in a purchase. In my view, prevention will always be better than cure.
The reforms also raise an important conversation about the changing role of estate agents.
If agents are expected to gather significantly more information before marketing a property, manage digital property logbooks, comply with additional regulation, undertake further professional training and potentially accept greater legal responsibility for the information they provide, then naturally the cost of delivering that service will increase.
For many years, estate agency in the UK has been driven by intense fee competition. Consumers understandably want value for money, but it has also created something of a race to the bottom, where fees often become the deciding factor rather than expertise, service or experience. At the same time, we frequently hear complaints about poor communication, inconsistent advice and varying standards of professionalism.
There is perhaps a wider conversation to be had about whether those two things are connected.
In many European countries, estate agency fees of between 3% and 5% are entirely normal. I’m certainly not suggesting UK fees should rise to those levels, but I do believe consumers need to understand that asking agents to carry greater responsibility, undertake more compliance work, collect substantially more information before marketing and meet higher professional standards inevitably comes with additional cost.
Rather than simply choosing the cheapest estate agent, sellers may increasingly need to consider who is best equipped to guide them through what is likely to become a more professional and more accountable process.
I also believe these reforms could change the mindset of sellers themselves.
Preparing comprehensive sales packs and legal documentation before marketing a property is likely to involve an upfront financial commitment. Whilst some may initially see this as an additional expense, I actually think it has the potential to create a healthier market.
At present, it isn’t uncommon for homeowners to simply “test the market” with very little financial commitment. If they later decide not to move, buyers may already have spent thousands of pounds on surveys, mortgage arrangements and legal fees before the transaction collapses.
If sellers have already invested in preparing the necessary legal information before marketing their property, it stands to reason that many will be more committed to seeing the transaction through. That increased commitment should provide buyers with greater confidence that the person they are negotiating with genuinely intends to move, reducing the number of sales that collapse simply because somebody changes their mind.
One criticism I’ve heard repeatedly over the past year is that these proposals are simply “Home Information Packs all over again.”
I don’t necessarily agree.
There are undoubtedly lessons to be learned from Home Information Packs, both good and bad, but technology has moved on considerably since then. Digital identities, electronic signatures, AI-assisted conveyancing and digital property logbooks simply didn’t exist in the way they do today. The proposals are about creating an integrated digital property ecosystem rather than producing another folder of paperwork.
There is also much we can learn from overseas.
The Netherlands has developed a digitised process, supported by live progress tracking, allowing many purchases to complete in around 20 days. Norway has also embraced digital property systems, with estimated efficiency savings of around £1.4 billion over a ten-year period. Scotland, meanwhile, has long provided buyers with considerably more information before offers are submitted. Whilst none of these systems are perfect, they all demonstrate that a more transparent process is possible and that there are valuable lessons England can take from each of them.
Another proposal that has generated considerable debate is the suggestion of mandatory qualifications for estate agents.
Personally, I welcome greater professionalism within our industry. I hold my own Level 4 qualification in Residential Property and becoming a Fellow of Propertymark was an important milestone in my own professional development. Qualifications establish standards, improve consumer confidence and demonstrate commitment to continuous learning.
However, qualifications alone do not make a great property professional.
Some of the very best agents I know have developed their expertise through years of managing real transactions, navigating complex chains, solving unexpected problems and supporting clients through some incredibly stressful situations. Practical experience simply cannot be replicated in a classroom.
For me, the strongest professionals will always combine formal qualifications with genuine hands-on experience. The two should complement one another rather than compete.
As with any significant reform, there will undoubtedly be differing opinions and many details still need to be worked through before these proposals become reality.
However, after spending many years helping buyers navigate what can often feel like an unnecessarily complicated process, my view remains relatively simple.
If these reforms reduce fall-through rates, improve transparency, allow buyers to make better-informed decisions, save consumers money through fewer aborted transactions and create greater certainty for everyone involved, then they deserve serious consideration.
The home buying process has remained largely unchanged for decades. Perhaps this is finally the moment where we begin building a system that reflects the expectations of today’s buyers and sellers, one that is faster, fairer, more transparent and ultimately gives consumers far greater confidence in one of the biggest financial decisions they will ever make.
You can read more on the government’s proposal here:
Homebuying shake-up to slash delays, cut costs and stop sales falling through – GOV.UK