The £1.5bn home buying black hole: Why digitisation and upfront information are the only cure – Rudolf

It confirms in stark terms what conveyancers, lenders, brokers, surveyors and consumer groups have long understood: the home buying and selling process can be difficult and uncertain, with sales and purchases far too susceptible to collapse – with all the wasted resource and cost that entails.

The figures are striking but not surprising. An estimated 530,000 property transactions fail every year in England and Wales, costing the economy and consumers £1.5bn.

For individuals, that means an average of £1,240 lost on each failed purchase, while the broader impact includes wasted working hours, lost productivity, and significant harm to people’s wellbeing. Over half of those who went through a failed transaction reported higher anxiety, disrupted sleep, or even strain on personal relationships.

These are statistics that only confirm the lived experience of thousands of buyers and sellers each year.

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Outdated homebuying process

The Conveyancing Association (CA) has long argued that the process, still rooted in a century-old framework, requires updating. For consumers, this often means a confusing and stressful journey, with 38% of buyers telling Santander that the legal and conveyancing process was the hardest part of their purchase.

They spoke of lengthy delays, the need to constantly chase for updates, or simply not knowing what was happening at any given point. For conveyancers, already stretched with a 15% fall in the size of the workforce since 2021, the challenge is to deliver modern transactions with antiquated tools.

The wasted time, money and resource is staggering. Every fall-through represents lost effort for conveyancers, estate agents, advisers, lenders and surveyors, not just consumers. More worryingly, it discourages people from moving again: Santander found that 28% of people are less likely to move after their last experience, reducing the number of homes coming to market and locking up supply.

What is encouraging, however, is the alignment we now see across the industry on the solutions required. The Santander report sets out seven policy asks, all of which echo the positions the CA has been working on for many years.

Universal digitisation of the process, a centralised property data system, better upfront information at the point of listing, standardised open data sharing, and the adoption of digital ID and electronic signatures – these are practical measures that would cut transaction times, reduce failures, and restore consumer confidence.

Disincentivising gazumping and gazundering, and exploring the role of artificial intelligence (AI) to automate administrative tasks, would further strengthen the chain.

It is not just conveyancers calling for this change.

Lenders, who have already invested heavily to make mortgage offers quicker and smoother, are frustrated to see deals collapse later in the process. Surveyors are pressing for more comprehensive upfront information. Brokers and estate agents want greater certainty for their clients – plus, of course, speedier completions mean everyone gets paid sooner, the pipeline moves quicker, and more business can be achieved.

Across the board, there is recognition that the process itself must be modernised if we are to avoid the £1.5bn annual black hole caused by failure and inefficiency.

Autumn Budget is a chance for change

As we look ahead to the government’s Budget, there is understandable speculation about what measures might be introduced to stimulate housing activity – whether that be stamp duty reform, first-time buyer support or wider supply-side incentives.

Yet what this report underlines is that one of the biggest boosts would come from simply improving the process itself. Reducing the number of fall-throughs and the time to completion would have a far more lasting impact than any short-term giveaways, benefitting consumers and the wider economy alike.

The Santander report should not be seen as a revelation. Instead, it is another piece of clear evidence that reinforces what we at the CA and others have been saying for years: digitisation and upfront information are not optional extras – they are the only way to create a faster, simpler, more transparent and more reliable home buying process.

The solutions are known, the support is broad, and the benefits are undeniable. And yet, they are not being embraced and the reality is you will only ever be able to transact as fast as the slowest person in the chain.

So, should we all only be recommending stakeholders who do embrace the solutions of upfront information and material information at the beginning of the transaction, digital ID, chain view and digital signatures through the transaction and digital property logbooks at the end of the transactions to create a positive homemoving experience for all?