The Open Property Data Association (OPDA), surveyed 5000 people and found that 66% of recent homeowners are reluctant to do it again – with one in five saying they’ve been significantly put off .
Delays in exchanging contracts, constant chasing for updates and repeated requests for information were cited as major frustrations. Currently, a home buying or selling transaction in the UK takes an average of 135 days to complete after an offer is accepted, up from 93 days in 2019.
Maria Harris (pictured), chair of the OPDA, said: “These findings are a major alarm bell for the housing sector. If so many people are reluctant to move again, it’s going to have a significant impact on housing supply, worsening mobility, particularly for those already struggling at the bottom of the housing ladder.
“The current system in the UK is broken and needs deep structural reform.”
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Roadblock ahead
Harris said the findings suggest a significant roadblock to the housing market, with the unwillingness of second steppers to move again creating a supply issue for first-time buyers. She said that better use of smart data for homebuying could help to solve this issue.
A recent government report said that the use of this data in the homebuying process could create £14.1bn in net social value and contribute £2.06bn annually to UK GDP by 2043, making it the single most economically impactful smart data use case across all sectors studied.
It said streamlining data flows could reduce transaction failures, reduce costs and improve market liquidity.
Benefits identified by the government included efficient processing, reduced administrative burden on firms, faster transaction cycles, increased pricing of services reflecting the added value and an increased pipeline from fewer fall-throughs.
Phil Spencer, property expert and founder of property advice website Move iQ, said the findings were worrying and that data could improve the issue.
“We all know moving home is a stressful experience. But these findings suggest the process is so bad most people would rather stay put than contemplate moving again,” he said.
“Buying a new house should be exciting, not stressful. Digitalisation has transformed so many elements of our lives for the better, and the housing market needs to move out of the dark ages. A system built on smart data would make life better and happier for buyers, sellers and property professionals.”
The OPDA is building the framework and standards that will transform the housing market, working in collaboration with lenders, brokers, conveyancers, estate agents, technology and proptech firms, as well as government bodies.
