After years of frustration for buyers and sellers alike, the Government has finally announced the sweeping reforms that the property industry has long called for. These aim to make buying and selling property faster, more transparent and less likely to end in a deal collapsing.
With transaction times to reach completion after an offer is accepted often taking in excess of 4 months, and two-thirds of homebuyers saying the experience of buying and selling a house is so bad that it has put them off moving again (according to Open Property Data Association), we are delighted that the Government has announced a major overhaul of the home-buying and selling system in England. This is great news for all of us and a long-overdue, significant breakthrough.
The changes include an upfront Sales Pack, Binding Agreements, Digital Tools and further regulation. These changes are estimated to cut transaction times by around four weeks and save first-time buyers an average of £650, while also significantly reducing the number of failed sales (currently one in three).
What is an upfront Sales Pack?
An upfront Sales Pack is a comprehensive digital document that sellers and estate agents will be required to prepare before a property can even be listed. It will include information about a property’s condition, leasehold costs, hidden fees, and chain status. The best agents already supply this information, but once enacted, this will become mandatory.
This will allow buyers to make fully informed decisions from day one, preventing nasty surprises later in the process.
Will Contracts Become Legally Binding Earlier?
In England, buyers and sellers can currently withdraw from a transaction at any point before the exchange of contracts, without financial penalty, which can lead to “gazumping” or sudden collapses. This causes huge emotional distress and financial loss to all concerned parties.
The government is therefore proposing binding conditional contracts much earlier in the process. If a buyer or seller pulls out of the deal without a legitimate, pre-defined reason, they could face financial penalties.
How Will Digital Tools Speed Up the Process?
A lot of the current frustration when buying or selling property stems from the endless paper trails and administrative back-and-forth between agents, surveyors, local councils and conveyancers. A very important part of the proposal is moving the system toward a real-time digital infrastructure, away from paper and toward online processes.
The digital revolution will make documents accessible to all parties involved and incorporate electronic signatures, allowing each party to check the transaction’s progress at any time.
Will Estate Agents Need Formal Qualifications?
Up until now, almost anyone could set up an Estate Agency, without the necessity of formal qualifications or any experience, whatsoever. This is set to change. Many of the best agents are already part of a professional body such as Propertymark but the Government is going one step further, by introducing a new Code of Practice and making qualifications mandatory. This will rebuild trust and drive up professional standards across the industry by cracking down on rogue practices.
What Does Bradbourne Property Think?
At Bradbourne, we welcome these changes, but we need to manage expectations on the timescale. Stephen Jenkins, Managing Director, says
“Having worked in the property industry for over 35 years, I have seen first-hand the frustration, financial losses and emotional stress that buyers and sellers often experience when a transaction is delayed or falls through.
At Bradbourne, we welcome these proposed reforms as a positive step forward. By improving transparency, reducing delays, introducing greater accountability and higher professional standards, the changes have the potential to give buyers and sellers the confidence they deserve throughout the home-moving process. While these reforms will take time to implement, the direction of travel is undoubtedly the right one.
In today’s more cautious and price-sensitive market, buyers want as much certainty as possible before committing to a purchase. That’s why I am particularly encouraged by the emphasis on upfront information. The more information that can be made available at the outset through comprehensive Sales Packs, the more informed buyers can be, leading to a higher likelihood of transactions proceeding successfully.”
What Does This Mean for Prime Property Buyers?
For a market heavily driven by sentiment, the ability to access comprehensive information from the outset, and to proceed with confidence that an agreed deal will hold, is enormously valuable.
At Bradbourne, we work exclusively for buyers, which means our focus is always on protecting your interests throughout the process. If you would like to discuss how the current market and these upcoming changes may affect your property search, we would be delighted to hear from you.
As a Buying Agency, we are not formally regulated by a supervising body; however, we are required by law and best practice to meet standards of regulatory registration and compliance. Bradbourne is registered with the Property Ombudsman and abides by their codes of conduct. We are registered with HMRC for Anti-Money Laundering supervision, have professional indemnity insurance and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for data protection compliance.