Hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers are set to save £710 on average when buying a home, thanks to the biggest shakeup to the homebuying system in this country’s history.
Proposals unveiled by the government on Monday 6 October will speed up the long-drawn out and costly process of buying a home by four weeks, saving people money and unnecessary stress, alongside wider reforms to rewire a chaotic system that has become a barrier to homeownership.
Under the plans, sellers and estate agents are required to provide buyers with vital information about a property upfront, including the condition of the home, leasehold costs, and chains of people waiting to move. This will help end nasty surprises which result in last-minute sale fall-throughs and give greater confidence to first-time buyers.
Binding contracts could also be introduced to stop people walking away from agreements after buyers painstakingly spend months in negotiations. This will help halve the number of failed transactions, so time and money are not wasted.
Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, said: “Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare. Our reforms will fix the broken system so hardworking people can focus on the next chapter of their lives. Through our Plan for Change we are putting more money back into working people’s pockets and making a simple dream a simple reality.”
These proposals will speed up the sluggish housing market by halving the number of failed sales, costing the economy £1.5bn a year, and the government estimates reforms could accelerate transactions by around four weeks. A full roadmap to fix the broken system will be set out in the new year.
This follows the Housing Secretary’s latest pledge to ‘Build, baby, build’, leaving no stone unturned to build 1.5m homes and break down the remaining barriers to development that stand in the way of meeting this target.
The latest housing supply figures show some green shoots of recovery, with a 29% increase in housing starts compared to last year, and the government is going further and faster to unleash the biggest era of housebuilding in the country’s history.
Industry reaction
Commenting on the announcement, Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, said: “(We) welcome the UK Government’s renewed commitment to reforming the home buying and selling process, with a clear focus on digitisation, transparency, and stronger consumer protection – all underpinned by mandatory professional qualifications for property agents.
“Embedding recognised standards is essential to raising professionalism, giving consumers greater confidence, and ensuring consistently higher levels of service. Equally, it is vital that reforms are evidence-based and informed by those who understand the realities of the sector on the ground. Agents work with buyers and sellers every day, and their experience will be crucial to ensure changes are practical, proportionate, and effective.”
Rightmove CEO Johan Svanstrom, stated: “Our latest average data shows people are spending seven long and often painful months to move home. We welcome the announcement today aiming to drive forward that much needed change and modernisation. The development of technology means transformation is possible, with the right collaboration and considerate planning.
“The home-moving process involves many fragmented parts, and there’s simply too much uncertainty and costs along the way. Speed, connected data, and stakeholder simplicity should be key goals. We believe it’s important to listen to agents as the experts for what practical changes will be most effective, and we look forward to working with the government on this effort to improve the buying and selling process.”
Justin Young, the CEO at RICS, commented: “RICS have long supported reform of the home buying and selling process, which is too often stressful, costly, and brings uncertainty to buyers and sellers. The Government’s commitment to an industry consultation is a vital step forward, and RICS will brings its expertise to the table. By embedding transparency, professionalism, and innovation into the buying and selling process, we can help build a housing market that works better for everyone.”
Lastly, Roxanne Barker, CEO at Fix My Legals added: “The home moving process has become utterly joyless. What should be an exciting milestone is instead a clunky, soulless, bureaucratic slog.
“Encouraging or requiring vendors to have legal packs ready at the point of listing would be transformative. It would protect buyers, speed up sales, and finally start dragging the process into the modern era. But let’s be honest, until there is a joined-up, digital-first system across the whole home moving journey, nothing will really change.
“Our plea to Steve Reed is – don’t tinker at the edges; don’t let this become another pile of consultations and white papers that go nowhere. Be bold and for heaven’s sake, drag the home-moving process into the modern world. Behind every transaction is a person or a family with hopes, stresses and dreams. They deserve better than what we’re giving them today.”
