Buying a house is SO worrying it places two thirds of individuals off transferring: But are issues about to vary?

The majority of British homebuyers say the experience of buying and selling a house is so bad, it has put them off moving again.

Two thirds of recent home movers who took part in a 5,000 strong survey said they would be reluctant to do it again after navigating the UK’s slow and stressful home‑buying system.

The figure rises sharply among 35 to 44‑year‑olds, who will often be moving up the property ladder. Nearly three in four say the experience has deterred them from moving again.

A third of people said said the difficulty of moving home had affected their family plans, just under a third said it had influenced career moves and 28 per cent said it had put them off downsizing in later life.

The survey of home movers – one of the largest of its kind – was carried out by Censuswide on behalf of the Open Property Data Association.

Delays in exchanging contracts, constantly chasing agents and lawyers for updates and repeated requests for information were cited as major frustrations. 

Why does buying a home take so long? 

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.

For many, the hardest bit in the current market can be finding a buyer that actually follows through to exchange.

Sellers have to contend with viewing after viewing and no serious offers – and often, when they do finally agree something, it can all fall apart, costing them time, energy and money in the process. 

In English law nothing is binding about a property transaction until the exchange of signed contracts. Keys are only handed over upon completion, the date of which is typically set at the point of exchange. 

Only 55 per cent of homes go on to sell once on the market, according to property analytics firm TwentyCi, this is particularly bad in inner London where homes stand a 33 per cent chance of finding a buyer. 

Around one in four sales fall through after the offer stage – and in some parts of the country it’s as high as one third at present.

TwentyCi also found sellers wait a staggering 201 days on average to go from first listing their home to exchanging contracts, though in some regions that stretches to 233 days or more than seven months.

The findings from OPDA 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.

Phil Spencer, property expert and founder of property advice website Move iQ said: ‘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.’

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA says 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,’ she said.

Could change be coming? 

The modernisation of the home buying and selling process through better use of data will be critical to improving things, according to OPDA. 

Around this time last year, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government announced plans to modernise the property transaction process through digitisation and secure data sharing. 

The Government’s Smart Data Strategy, published last month, found that smart data for homebuying could create £14.1 billion in net social value and contribute £2.06 billion annually to UK GDP by 2043, making it the single most economically impactful smart data use case across all sectors studied.

‘Buying a new house should be exciting, not stressful,’ said Phil Spencer. ‘Digitisation 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 says it is building the framework that it claims will transform the housing market, working in collaboration with lenders, mortgage brokers, conveyancers, estate agents, technology and proptech firms, as well as Government bodies.

‘The current system in the UK is broken and needs deep structural reform,’ added Maria Harris. ‘Embracing smart data will transform how we buy and sell property. 

‘With more upfront information and industry wide standards, we can deliver faster transactions, fewer fall throughs, and greater transparency.’

The OPDA is not the only organsiation taking steps to try and improve the buying and selling process.

This week, Lloyds Banking Group, the estate agency Connells Group, and LMS, a leading conveyancing provider, announced they are partnering to launch a fully digital homebuying service. 

They claim it could reshape the way homes are bought and sold across England and Wales.

The digital homebuyer service has been developed to eliminate the points of frustration and cut weeks of waiting and uncertainty from the process.

It will include providing searches with the property listing to minimise late-stage surprises. 

Sellers will become ‘digital sale ready’ earlier, with property, ID and material information captured upfront. 

There will be fewer steps to complete. For example, ID verification will be required only once, and shared between all necessary organisations. 

Conveyancers will be given access to key information such as ID, searches, source of funds, reducing paperwork and speeding up the legal process.

Steve Reed, housing secretary said: ‘Too many people who have bought or sold a home will know this feeling all too well – months of waiting, chasing and worrying, with sales liable to fall through at any moment. It can quickly become a living nightmare.

‘It doesn’t need to be this difficult and that is why we have set out bold proposals to shake up the home buying and selling process.’