A survey of homebuyers has identified a sizeable disconnect between expectations around the length of time it takes to move home, and the reality; in some cases, homebuying is taking over three times longer than buyers expect.
57% of respondents thought the homebuying process would take less than two months from when the offer was accepted to exchanging contracts; in 46% of cases the process took between three and six months, and in 16% of cases it took longer than six months.
The survey has been conducted by the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) and quizzed over 5000 people from across the UK who had bought or sold a property in the past five years. The research identified the most popular reason for buying was a first home (38% of respondents), followed by upsizing to a larger home (27%) and relocation for work.
Articulating the frustrations of home movers, comment from respondents included
- “We were gazundered and the chain collapsed at one point!”
- “Things have changed a lot since we previously bought/sold– nowadays it is more like an auction – you get a guide price and you put an offer in and wait and see if you have ‘won’!”
- “The mortgage was agreed and papers signed ready to move in three days then the money went missing? We couldn’t move for five more days with no furniture in our house and two autistic children.”
Expectations and reality varied significantly by age group and postcode region where in the West Midlands there nearly 20% of transactions took in excess of six months, followed by the North East (19%), East Anglia and the South-West (18%). At the other end of the spectrum, Northern Ireland outperformed Scotland, with 52% of transactions being achieved within two months, almost meeting the expectations of the 58% who thought that two months was an acceptable timescale.
It is therefore no surprise that customers’ expectations are not being met and that the homebuying process continues to be susceptible to unexpected events, delays and the levels of stress that can be caused when it does go horribly wrong.
OPDA’s survey is part of its new research into how homebuying can be improved through access to safe, shareable and trustable digital data. OPDA will publish more survey results shortly, and the research will be published in full at an official launch. The research will include key recommendations to Government around digitising the homebuying process.
Maria Harris, Chair of OPDA, said:
“Our large-scale survey regrettably but predictably confirms what we have long asserted, that homebuying is not the customer centric experience it should be. The current process delivers an appallingly slow, unpredictable, and disappointing experience for the majority of home buyers and sellers. Buying a home, especially your first, should be a cause for celebration. Instead, it too frequently leaves buyers open to heartbreak and unfulfilled expectations and is not fit for purpose. Clearly, customers expect a better homebuying experience and reform is urgently needed to achieve this.”
Since it launched last June, OPDA has delivered open property data standards and models for trustable and shareable data, securing collaboration and support from lenders and industry firms including Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, and OnTheMarket. The association says it has seen organisations adopting the OPDA standard reduce the time it takes from offer to exchange time reduced from the current average of 22 weeks to within 15 days, demonstrating in their view ‘the tools and approach to collectively deliver a better customer experience already exist.’
