Industry cannot ‘sit back and wait’ for mandated digital home buying processes
The property sector must prepare for digital reform to the home buying and selling process to avoid being left behind once this is mandated by the government.
The Open Property Data Association (OPDA) urged the sector to act during the closing panel of its third annual general meeting this week, where figures from the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) discussed progress towards a more connected, data-driven property market and the steps being taken to implement this.
The panel was hosted by OPDA chair Maria Harris and included fellow DPMSG delivery leads Kate Faulkner OBE, chair of the Home Buying and Selling Council, Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, Nick Boddington, director of strategic partnerships at HM Land Registry, and Stephen Ward, director of strategy at the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
They discussed progress made in developing a shared vision for digital home buying, as well as the legislation and mandation needed to realise it. The panel also emphasised that participation from the property sector was needed, such as lenders, technology providers, conveyancers and smaller estate agencies.
No time to delay
Harris said the sector had reached an “important point in the journey towards a more digital, connected property market”.
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She added: “The government has set out its direction of travel and roadmap commitments, DPMSG has been established as the delivery vehicle for digitisation, and the industry has already done a huge amount of work to establish the data model, standards, frameworks, and shared methodology needed to make this happen.”
Harris said organisations could not “afford to sit back and wait for the standards to be mandatory if they want to retain their competitive advantage and customer confidence”.
She added: “Businesses across the property chain need to start preparing now, engaging with the changes, and getting ready for smart data, trust frameworks, and accreditation. This means digitising your data and adopting the voluntary trust and accreditation standards today to make the home buying process better for everyone.”
Digital home buying processes are already here
The panel mentioned developments being made across the market, such as the rising number of firms adopting Qualified Electronic Signatures (QESs), reusable digital identity verification (DVS) and open finance data. They said these changes demonstrated how digital processes were already part of property transactions.
Panellists said the sector did not need to wait for a complete reform programme before making progress, saying firms could review their operations and engage with clients and partners about digital data sharing and upfront property information.
The panel also said businesses wanted to know how various workstreams mentioned in the government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap would work together and be put into practice.
They said this required a clear, joined-up picture of the future of home buying and who was responsible for each part of the process.
All firms must buy in
Harris said: “We need to make the changes and implementation tools tangible and easy to understand for businesses. The more clearly we can show what a digitised journey looks like, the benefits it delivers, and how different parts of the industry are working together to get there, the easier it will be for firms to understand the role they have to play and to start making progress.”
The panel also noted that reform must reach businesses of all sizes, as smaller and independent firms also played a significant role and should not be left behind.
They said good communication, collaboration and practical guidance would be vital.
The panellists said digital reform was not about introducing new technology, but creating a framework for trusted, consistent and reusable property information to reduce duplication and improve efficiency.
