Transactions can take months to complete, with information requested multiple times by different parties and important issues still emerging late in the process. In many cases, purchases fall through altogether and, even where they complete, customers feel frustrated by the delays and constant need to chase.

The challenge is well recognised. The government’s recently published Home buying and selling reforms and roadmap described the current process as “long, complicated and frustrating” and set out detailed plans to improve the use of upfront property information, digital identity and trusted data sharing across the transaction.

It highlighted that transactions take an average of around 120 days to complete, around one in three fail before completion and that no more than 2% of home movers believed they had received sufficient information about a property before making an offer.

Every delayed or failed transaction is wasted effort and cost for everyone involved. For brokers, it creates a lot of additional work, chasing updates, managing expectations and helping clients through an unpredictable process.

That’s why getting to offer more quickly is only part of the picture. Our attention is now shifting towards what happens next: helping transactions progress more smoothly from offer to exchange and completion.

One of the biggest causes of delay is that important information often comes to light far too late. Whether it’s a search result or a missing document, issues that could have been identified much earlier can end up delaying the transaction weeks down the line.

Our new digital home buying initiative aims to address this by bringing key information together much earlier in the transaction. Rather than being gathered at different stages by different organisations, information such as ID checks, source of funds and property information can be collected upfront and shared where appropriate, which aligns with the Government’s Home Buying and Selling reforms.

Built around LMS’ National Property Transaction Network (NPTN), the model allows property, identity and financial information to be captured once and reused throughout the transaction.

The aim is straightforward: reduce duplication, rework and late surprises.

No initiative can eliminate fall-throughs altogether, but by bringing more information forward and making it available earlier, we can identify potential issues sooner and improve transparency.

This is the first phase of a wider programme of work.

Real change needs to be tested on real transactions, with real customers, before it can be expanded to bring in more of the market.

Connells Group and LMS are natural partners because of their UK-wide scale, networks, technology and involvement across multiple parts of the purchase process. Together with Lloyds Banking Group, they provide a practical environment in which to test new ways of reducing delays.

We deliberately launched this initiative through Halifax Intermediaries rather than our direct channel because brokers remain central to the home buying journey. This first phase is about understanding how earlier information, trusted data and closer collaboration can help improve outcomes for brokers and borrowers.

But it’s just one part of a much wider effort. Different initiatives will take different approaches, but they share a common goal: making home buying quicker, simpler and more certain. No single organisation can achieve that alone, which is why collaboration across the market will be critical.

The lessons we learn from this first phase will help shape future development and inform how the initiative evolves over time. Early indications are encouraging and we are tracking cases being submitted through the initiative. We’re keen to extend this work to include more lenders, brokers and estate agents.

This first phase isn’t the finished model. We’re testing whether bringing more information forward in the process can reduce delays, duplication and uncertainty, and what that could mean for brokers and your clients.

You remain key to the whole purchase experience. Customers rely on you for advice, guidance and reassurance throughout what is often one of the biggest financial decisions they’ll ever make.

If information can be gathered earlier, shared securely and trusted by everyone involved, there should be less duplication, fewer surprises and less time spent trying to find answers. That should mean less chasing for you, fewer avoidable delays and more cases progressing successfully through to exchange and completion.

We want brokers spending more time with clients and less time resolving issues and managing the buying process. That’s what we’re trying to learn from this first phase and why we think it’s an important step towards a better home buying journey.

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