Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, said the US-Iran conflict exposed how vulnerable the UK housing market was to geopolitical instability.
The conflict has seen mortgage rates rise above 5% and hundreds of products pulled from the market.
Harris said: “Just as the government has recognised the need for long-term energy security, we now need a long-term housing strategy that builds resilience into the system.
“Short-term interventions can only soften the impact of global events. What we need is a modern, data-driven property market that can withstand them.”
Harris said the government’s plan to build more homes was essential but not enough on its own, pointing to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) forecast that it would fall short of building one-and-a-half million homes by 2030.
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She said the UK housing system was “outdated, slow and overly reliant on static documents and manual processes”.
More than housebuilding to fix the sector
The OPDA believes it would need collaboration from its leadership and standards, the government’s policy and infrastructure, and adoption by the property sector to reform this.
Harris said: “Building more homes is only part of the solution. Just as energy resilience requires investment in the grid, housing resilience requires investment in the digital infrastructure that underpins the market.”
Last week, the Department of Trade and Business published a report saying the use of Smart Data in home buying could generate £14.1bn in net social value and contribute £2.06bn annually to UK GDP by 2043.
Harris said more urgency was needed to strengthen the housing market.
She said: “Global shocks will continue to test the UK housing market. While these events cannot be controlled, the efficiency and resilience of the property system can be strengthened.
“A modern, data-driven property market will help maintain confidence, reduce delays and keep the market moving even during periods of uncertainty. The path forward is clear: collaboration, digital foundations and a long-term strategy that treats housing as critical national infrastructure.”
