‘I’ve spent 40 years in property, moving home has got slower.’ Agents welcome homebuying reforms

• The government’s proposed homebuying reforms include upfront property information, earlier binding agreements, new professional standards for agents and greater use of digital technology.
• Estate agents we spoke to agreed that the proposed reforms could help to address many of the frustrations that property buyers and sellers face.
• The potential success of the proposed reforms was seen by agents to depend largely on how they were rolled out across the industry.

Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions most of us will ever make. It’s also a process many people find frustrating.

Delays, repeated paperwork, uncertainty and the risk of a sale falling through can all add stress, costs and months of waiting to a move. The government recently announced a package of proposed reforms designed to tackle some of those challenges, including upfront property information, earlier binding agreements, new professional standards for agents and more use of digital technology throughout the homebuying process.

The government says the reforms could reduce the time to sell a home by around four weeks and save first-time buyers an average of £650. But can these changes really make a difference? We asked estate agents for their verdict.

Could upfront sales packs help buyers make more confident decisions?

One of the government’s headline proposals is the introduction of upfront sales packs. These would give buyers access to important information about a property before they make an offer, rather than later in the conveyancing process.

Dafydd Hardy, Founder and Director at Dafydd Hardy Estate Agents in North West Wales, says that he has already seen examples of these sales packs working well.

“I can remember the Home Information Packs (HIPs) coming into force,” he says. “I thought these were brilliant, despite the significant amount of upfront work, and delay in bringing a property to market.

“They provided useful information to buyers, reduced fall through rates, and resulted in committed sellers coming to market.”

Chris Thomas MRICS, Partner and Surveyor at Clee Tompkinson Francis in Swansea, also believes that providing more information earlier in the process could help buyers to avoid costly surprises later on:

“Providing key information at the outset should help buyers make more informed decisions and reduce the number of transactions that fall through due to issues discovered later in the process.

“However, the information must be accurate, standardised and easy to access, otherwise there is a risk of adding cost and administration without delivering meaningful improvements.”

Will fewer sales fall through?

One of the biggest frustrations for buyers and sellers is a transaction collapsing after months of paperwork, legal work and waiting. The reforms propose introducing earlier binding agreements, making it harder for either side to walk away without good reason once they’ve committed to go ahead.

Rightmove CEO Johan Svanstrom says reducing fall-throughs is one of the biggest opportunities created by the reforms:

“By making more information available upfront, there is a clear opportunity to reduce fall-throughs and increase transparency. Our UK-wide data shows that it takes a lengthy 170 days on average to complete a transaction and that over one in five transactions initially falls through.

“Fall throughs mean consumers lose precious time, certainty and money when needing to repeat transaction processes.”

Chris Thomas agrees on how “greater commitment earlier in the transaction could reduce the high rate of fall-throughs and provide more certainty for both buyers and sellers.”

However, both agents and industry leaders stress that any new system needs to be carefully designed.

“The current process in England & Wales is long overdue for reform,” says Dafydd Hardy. “However, the process needs to be carefully considered to avoid alienating buyers or adding further complexity to the process. The way in which these are regulated and handled will be critical to their success.”

Could buying a home finally become less paperwork-heavy?

Ask almost anyone who has moved home recently and they’ll probably mention the paperwork. One of the government’s biggest ambitions is to replace many of today’s paper-based systems with digital property logbooks, digital identity checks, electronic signatures and AI-assisted conveyancing.

For Holly Batt of Alan Batt Sales and Lettings in Wigan, reducing duplication could have a significant impact:

“One of the worst things at the moment is the complete disconnection between different factions within the process and how that complicates and elongates the system. The fact that a client can potentially go through four AML checks for what is essentially the same transaction is completely illogical.”

Dafydd Hardy believes digitisation could help address one of the biggest causes of delay, and also points to repeated identity checks as a major source of frustration.

“During my 40+ years of being in the industry, sales times have got longer not shorter,” he explains. “We can all debate why this has occurred, but we can all agree that the process needs improvement.

“Customers get very frustrated having to provide the same ID documents to agents, solicitors, and mortgage lenders. A government run portal, accessible with share codes to those involved, would be very much welcomed.”

Johan Svanstrom agrees that technology could help reduce friction throughout the process:

“We strongly believe that further digitisation and improvements to the home-moving process can help to speed it up and reduce friction. It will require cross-industry collaboration and innovation to achieve the aims set out today.”

Will better-qualified estate agents improve the experience?

The reforms also include proposals for a new Code of Practice for estate agents and making certain qualifications required across the profession. Supporters say this could help improve consistency, professionalism and consumer confidence.

Dafydd Hardy is one of them, saying that a new Code of Practice is something he has championed for a long time: “Ensuring a professional standard to the industry, with licensing, will ensure a crack down on rogue operators and demonstrate the skills required.”

Chris Thomas agrees, emphasising that clearer standards would ultimately benefit buyers and sellers.

“Raising professional standards through a clear code of practice and recognised qualifications would be a positive step for the industry,” he says. “It would help build consumer confidence, improve consistency of service and reinforce the importance of professionalism and accountability across the property sector.”

Rightmove works closely with estate agents to provide training. We reported back in May that we’d seen more than twice the number of agents booking Rightmove exams this year, illustrating the appetite among agents for training and qualifications.

“Agents are being asked to navigate more complex consumer expectations,” explains Jason Charles, Rightmove’s Head of Education. “Qualifications give them a practical way to show their expertise, build trust and differentiate their service.”

So, will the reforms make moving easier?

The clear view from the agents we spoke to is that the proposals have the potential to address many of the frustrations that buyers and sellers face today. But there is also a strong note of caution. The success of the reforms will depend on how they are rolled out, and whether they genuinely remove obstacles rather than introduce new ones.

As Chris Thomas puts it:

“The proposed reforms have the potential to make the homebuying process more transparent and efficient, but their success will ultimately depend on how consistently they are implemented across the sector.”

Are you looking to buy your first home? Access our first-time buyer guides for help on working out affordability, getting a mortgage, finding a property and more.

Selling your home? Explore our seller guides for advice on choosing an agent, handling viewings and more.