Rightmove CEO response to Government plans to speed up moving

Rightmove’s CEO Johan Svanstrom responds today to news from the Government that they are hoping to help modernise the home-moving process.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-buying-and-selling-to-become-quicker-and-cheaper

Rightmove CEO Johan Svanstrom says: “Digitising the property market is key to helping speed up the moving process. If the plans set out today can further the access to information and an improved transaction process, it’s also critical to drive industry-wide adoption of tech solutions and collaboration to make it a success. 

“Our latest data shows it takes five painful months on average to move into a home after having an offer accepted. This is on top of the initial two months it usually takes a seller to find and agree an offer with a buyer. It means someone listing on Rightmove today would only conclude their sale in September, and that kind of timeline is really not good or effective for anyone. The current process also contributes to an average of more than one in five home sales falling through, and hopefully a better process can help reduce this as well.

“It’s not an easy task as there are so many data points, and different ways of gathering them, for a home listing and sale. The tech and data teams at Rightmove have been digitising and standardising data collection for many years, and we think it’s definitely achievable to take it further with the right technologies, and a strong public and private effort. We look forward to helping the government with their plans for progress. We can leverage our platform reach to support home-movers and help our estate agent partners realise this benefit.”