The Home Buying & Selling Group (HBSG) has released the first public version of its new Property Data Trust Framework with the objective of providing upfront information in an “available and sharable” digital format.
The collaborative working group says its objective is to create the “common language, data, and technology standards needed by industry and property data custodians” to address the lack of upfront information in property transactions.
Their new framework includes a “free to use, open-source repository of JSON schemas which cover the key elements of an upfront information pack for customers and estate agents”.
This includes the Buyer and Seller Property Information (BASPI) – a “single source of truth” regarding a given property – as well as material information for property listings as described by National Trading Standards and early search flag indicators.
The group says this information and data can then be shared with the seller’s conveyancer and other parties to the transactions including potential buyers and mortgage lenders.
The HBSG say the standards generated by the Property Data Trust Framework will be FAIR: “findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable”, and the provenance of the data will be supported by “trusted information”.
This, along with the “common data dictionary” and API specifications within the schemas, will support the “frictionless exchange of property data between software platforms and product or service providers.
“I’m delighted that we’re now able to share the framework and schemas with the rest of the industry,” said HBSG Chair Maria Harris, continuing:
“The development of the Property Data Trust Framework is a significant milestone in the much needed move of the industry from documents to data. Through digitisation of the upfront property data, connecting our systems using a common set of API standards, and redesigning the end-to-end journey, we’ve seen a real breakthrough in improving the customer and user experience.”
With two successful proof of concept validation tests under their belt, contributing firms are now entering a beta phase with real customers on live transactions. Participants in this phase include customer facing property data collection, estate agent branches, estate agent software, property search and reports, conveyancing firms, conveyancing software, and technology firms. Future phases will be extended to mortgage intermediaries, mortgage lenders, and valuation instructions.
The HBSG says it welcomes further contribution to the schemas from the proptech developer community and expressions of interest from any of the industry firms and software providers who are ready to start working with digital upfront information. Information on how to register for further information or to access the schemas can be found on their website: https://homebuyingandsellinggroup.co.uk/property-data-trust-framework/
