The future of home buying and selling position paper

The future of

home buying

and selling

#LOOKFORPROPERTYMARK

Scan the QR code to

nd out more about

Propertymark Protection.

This position paper includes

recommendations to increasing

consistency and transparency,

improving the speed and

quality of the process and

reducing fall throughs.

POSITION PAPER

Apr 2024

Find us on social media

@PropertymarkUK

@propertymarkuk

Propertymark

#LOOKFORPROPERTYMARK

LETTING AGENTS ESTATE AGENTS AUCTIONEERS

& VALUERS

We are the leading

membership body for the

property sector with nearly

18,000 members who

display the Propertymark

Protected logo

1PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

Throughout the UK, 16.1 million

households own their home

outright or with a mortgage

This accounts for 63.8% of all

households in the UK with over

1.2 million residential property

transactions between 2022

and 2023.

This makes homeownership the largest housing

tenure in the UK by far. The vast majority of homes

purchased are bought and sold through estate

agents, with most recent statistics estimating that

83% of all homes were sold through a traditional

high street estate agent

. This means that estate

agents play a fundamental role in home buying

and selling and any future policy developments

for reform.

Considering the number of property transactions that

take place every year, it would be reasonable to

assume that the process has been rened to a quick

and straightforward procedure. However, despite

the importance of the process, it has been subject to

much criticism and has not seen much improvement

over the past few decades.

"The process hasn’t changed for many years

and there is little that is good about it. The

process has failed to progress, failed to use

technology and there is an overall lack of

technology between stakeholders."

Executive summary

Propertymark member

estate agent based in the

North of England.

IMPROVING THE HOME BUYING

AND SELLING PROCESS

Moving house is considered a slow and frustrating

process, especially when compared internationally

where countries such as the USA, Australia, and

Norway complete transactions in a fraction of

the time. This has not gone unnoticed by the UK

Government, who want to understand how the home

buying and selling process can be improved.

Previous and current governments in Westminster

have made commitments to address the following

issues:

• Length of time to complete a sale

• Transactions failures

• Consumer inexperience

• Lack of transparency

• The comparatively high cost of the process

• Weak regulation of estate agents

• Limited digitisation and innovation

Over the spring and summer of 2023, Propertymark

held round tables with our sales members from the

North and South of England, Wales, and Northern

Ireland to discuss the key challenges and solutions for

the Home Buying and Selling process.

In doing so, we have uncovered multiple issues that

slow down the process and lead to fall-throughs in

property sales:

1. Lack of regulation of property agents

2. Available guidance

3. Inconsistent processes within these industries

4. Missing and duplication of information during

the process

5. The number of industries involved

6. Modernisation

In addition to action from the

UK Government, there have been

calls from the industry to come

together to improve the process.

Regulation of

property agents

Estate agents across the UK are predominantly

regulated through the Estate Agents Act 1979 and

its amended Orders and Regulations as well as the

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading

Regulations 2008.

Additional regulations include:

• Companies Act 2006

• Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress

Act 2007

• Town and Country Planning (Control of

Advertisements) Regulations 2007

• Energy Performance of Buildings

(Certicates & Inspections) Regulations

(Northern Ireland) 2008

• Business Protection from Misleading

Marketing Regulations 2008

• Energy Performance of Buildings (England and

Wales) Regulations 2012 require the seller to

commission an Energy Performance Certicate

(EPC) Consumer Contracts (Information,

Cancellation and Additional Charges)

Regulations 2013

• Consumer Rights Act 2015

• The Company, Limited Liability Partnership

and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures)

Regulations 2015

• The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and

Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer)

Regulations 2017

• Economic Crime (Transparency and

Enforcement) Act 2022

• Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022

• Building Safety Act 2022

Despite these laws, there is no legal requirement for

estate agents to be qualied, licensed or a member

of a professional body. As a result, there is no

guarantee that an estate agent would be aware

of these regulations and the interpretation of how

these regulations inform and impact daily business

will vary.

"Some agents just

don’t understand

what information they

should be putting out

and asking the vendor.

Estate agents who

are well trained know

about properties and

areas, which will save a

lot of time."

Propertymark member estate agent

based in Northern Ireland

5PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

The issue of no set minimum

standards for estate agents

is made worse by a lack of

standardisation and guidance

GUIDANCE FOR AGENTS

While members of professional bodies such as

Propertymark are qualied and have access to

training, information, best practice guides and

support to ensure compliance, there is no industry

standard step-by-step procedure for how to buy

or sell a home.

Guidance can help standardise the sector, which

would be particularly benecial for agents with less

experience and organisations working with agents

to ensure their practices complement the process

for agents.

REDRESS

Under the legal requirement for agents to belong

to one of the two government-approved redress

schemes, there is an assumption that all agents

have a complaints procedure in place and will

deal with matters in the same way and within the

same timescales.

A quick search of agent websites will show the

difference in complaints handling procedures and a

difference in how the information is presented. This

causes confusion and frustration to consumers when

they see little action taken after raising a complaint.

Furthermore, the redress schemes are inconsistent in

the way that they handle complaints because agents

who are members of the schemes are not working to

the same requirements and the schemes adjudicate

to different professional standards.

This is evident in two ways. Firstly, out of the two

government-approved redress schemes (The Property

Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme),

only The Property Ombudsman has a Code of

Practice that members of the scheme must

comply with.

Secondly, because The Property Ombudsman

was the rst redress scheme to gain status as an

Ofce of Fair Trading Approved Estate Agents

Redress Scheme under the provisions of the

Consumers Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007

before the introduction of the approved Code

of Practices, some agents working in residential

sales and residential lettings have signed up as

‘Registered Members’ of The Property Ombudsman.

These members do not subscribe to The Property

Ombudsman Code of Practice and display

a different logo to members of The Property

Ombudsman. This creates further confusion for

consumers and inconsistencies in standards.

INTERACTIVE GUIDANCE

FOR CONSUMERS

Member agents have also reported that many

consumers are simply not ready to start the process

by the time they contact an agent, with issues arising

when sellers do not have all the information required

on their property ready.

While UK Government guidance exists for

consumers, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing

and Communities (DLUHC) is concerned that the

awareness of this guidance is not at the level they

would like it to be.

INCONSISTENT PROCESS

WITHIN INDUSTRIES

One of the most signicant barriers to collaboration

in the home buying and selling process is that

there are inconsistent processes across sectors

(legal, nance and property) and within different

organisations as well. There is no standardisation

within many of the organisations involved, meaning

that there are different expectations as to how

the process should be run at each stage. The

inconsistency of expectations and procedures across

all industries involved often leads to confusion and

delays in the buying and selling of homes.

Members have stated that building relationships

helps to improve the process. When organisations

understand what each other is doing and what to

expect from them, the process is much faster with

fewer delays. However, this is only a temporary

solution and relationships fall apart when a

company goes out of business or key members of

staff leave. It is also dependent on all organisations

being willing to collaborate, which is not always

straightforward.

The housing

industry

shouldn’t

be treated in silos;

buyers, agents,

conveyancers should

all be included in one

guide to show how it

all works together.

Propertymark member estate agent

based in North Wales

7PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

MISSING AND DUPLICATION

OF INFORMATION DURING

THE PROCESS

A consequence of inconsistent processes and a

reluctance to cooperate is that data and information

that is required for the process to continue is often

ignored even if shared. Propertymark members,

despite being recommended to provide a Property

Information Questionnaire (PIQ) have reported that

they are asked to provide the same information

weeks after handing the PIQ to solicitors and other

organisations involved in the transaction.

This can bring the process to a standstill as other

industries involved are reluctant to change how they

operate to accept information that they are used to

asking for later on in the process.

Agents also have to take responsibility for this, as

there is no guarantee that the full range of property

information is shared or always in the same format,

which leads to other industries being unaware that

they should expect it.

INCONSISTENT PROCESS

WITHIN INDUSTRIES

The comparatively slower speed and number of fall-

throughs in the process are further compounded due

to the number of industries involved.

From an assessment of the industry the following

organisations commonly work within the home

buying and selling process, not including the

regulators and professional organisations

representing these sectors:

1. Estate agents

2. Residential surveyors

3. Valuers

4. Solicitors

5. Mortgage lenders and brokers

6. Insurance professionals

7. Search and data providers

8. Removers

9. HM Land Registry (HMLR)

10. Community living administrators

11. Technology providers and property portals

While not all of these organisations will be involved

in every single transaction, the top ve especially will

be involved in the vast majority of sales. All these

organisations are subject to different legislation and

varying degrees of regulation and processes which

each will have to be aware of. Understandably, with

the number of organisations involved each with their

own way of working, collaboration is difcult which

can lead to a slow process with increased numbers

of sales fall-throughs.

Lawyers tend to

be very slow and

won’t pick up the

phone, they rely

on emails and won’t have a

conversation… Planners are

a law into themselves and

slow the process down for

new builds.

Estate agent based in London

Considering many

companies have adopted

digital information-sharing

procedures, there is no

reason why industries

involved in the home

buying and selling process

continue to use outdated

methods of collaboration.

MODERNISATION

Technology has opened up the opportunity for

prospective buyers to view thousands of properties

across the UK in a fraction of the time that they

would have been able to a few decades ago.

Never have buyers had access to real-time

information on the availability of properties and

virtual tours that allow buyers to view and shortlist

potential properties without leaving their homes.

However, that is where the progress in technology

ends. Much of the home buying and selling process

is still paper-based with no widespread adoption

of technology that can improve the speed of the

process once it starts. The process relies heavily on

emails being sent where important information can

easily be missed, ignored or lost.

9PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

History of reforming

the process

The UK Government has made several attempts

to improve the process. In 1997 the Labour

Government carried out a review of the process with

various proposals for reforms introduced through the

2000 Green Paper:

Quality and Choice: A Decent

Home for All

Proposals for reforms included:

• The introduction of a seller’s pack

• Changes to the law to permit electronic

conveyancing

• Encouraging local authorities to speed up

the search process

• Asking lenders to expedite the provision of

deeds and the processing of mortgage

applications

Following the transfer of government, the

Conservative Party conducted research into the

process, highlighting that while some action had

been taken, the previous administration had failed to

truly improve the speed and quality of the process to

levels experienced in other nations.

Policy papers including HM Treasury’s

A better

deal: boosting competition to bring down bills for

families and rms

and later the then Ministry of

Housing, Communities & Local Government’s 2018

consultation on improving the home buying and

selling process

These reports and consultations came to the

following conclusions on how the process can

be improved.

Inject innovation into the process of home buying to

provide consumers with different—and potentially

quicker, simpler and cheaper—ways to buy and sell

a home.

Create a mandatory professional qualication

for estate agents with an ongoing requirement to

undertake Continuing Professional Development.

Work with the industry to standardise the

presentation of referral fees and ensure that

customers are made aware of any potential referral

fee before they decide whether to purchase.

Develop and publish ‘How to Buy’ and ‘How to Sell’

guides to ensure customers are better informed of

the process.

In the longer term, most of the information consumers

need to know about a property should be available

up front when the property is marketed, for example

through the development of a ‘property passport’.

Set xed time frames and maximum fees for the

provision of leasehold information, potentially with a

statutory underpinning, and encourage managing

agents to make this information available

electronically to enable instant access.

Work with industry to develop a short, standardised

reservation agreement which can be used in any

transaction

Propertymark’s position paper

comes o the back of the renewed

eorts to improve the home

buying and selling process.

In this paper, we have presented the agents’

perspective to ensure that future regulations reect

the evidence our members are seeing on the ground

and that future actions respond to the largest

challenges affecting the process.

To fully understand the current frustrations within the

process and to also ensure that the positive elements

can be highlighted, Propertymark conducted a series

of member roundtables.

Many of the challenges facing agents were

consistent across the country, with some issues more

pronounced than others. Following discussions from

our roundtables, our reform proposals have been

broken down into the following three sections:

1. Increasing consistency and transparency

2. Improving the speed and quality of the process

3. Reducing fall throughs

The future of home

buying and selling

Despite the extent of research and commitments

made to improve the process, the industry and the

public still regard the process as slow and difcult.

While progress has been made in some areas,

with greater standardisation of referral fees and

the publication of ‘How to Buy’ and ‘How to Sell’

guides, little progress has been made towards many

of these recommendations.

As such, there has been a renewed interest in

reforming the process. In June 2023, the Department

for Levelling up, Housing and Communities

(DLUHC) began a research project into the process,

conducting interviews with people who had recently

been through or were currently in the process of

buying or selling a home.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFORM

11PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

One of the most signicant challenges of the home

buying and selling process is the lack of consistency

from all organisations involved. Beyond regulations

setting out illegal activity, there is no standard for how

homes should be bought and sold. While this would

usually not be such an issue for other industries, since

this exibility allows for agents to innovate and ensure

that they can tailor their procedures to t the specic

needs of each client and property, the home buying

and selling process requires the collaboration between

almost a dozen industries, each working in silos.

Increasing consistency

and transparency

SECTION 1

Due to this lack of consistency and transparency, it is

very difcult for all industries involved to improve their

ability to complete transactions as each transaction

will be conducted slightly differently. This affects both

agents and the industries they are required to work

with to ensure a timely and efcient transaction.

Furthermore, a lack of consistency within the property

agent sector can lead to negative experiences with

unprofessional and inexperienced agents.

11PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

MODERNISATION

Four solutions would best improve redress in the

housing sector:

• Better awareness from consumers of how to raise

a complaint.

• Schemes should all operate to the same

criteria/standards.

• A code of practice for housing providers (e.g.

landlords, housing associations, developers)

on complaints handling

• A streamlined redress provision in housing

REGULATION

The UK Government should review and implement the

recommendations of the 2019 RoPA Working Group

report. The report calls for all residential property

agents to be licensed and adhere to a Code

of Practice.

All staff delivering ‘reserved activities’ including those

involved in the buying and selling process should

hold a Level 3 qualication, with all activity overseen

by a new independent regulator. The combination of

minimum qualications and an established Code of

Practice will not only raise standards but will support

the process by ensuring buyers, sellers and all other

industries involved have established expectations

from agents.

STEP-BY-STEP HOME BUYING

AND SELLING GUIDE AGENTS

While qualications and a Code of Practice can

help improve standards, there would still be an

element of inconsistency with the way agents

operate. While this enables agents to adapt their

operations based on the property and adopt their

own way of working, this can lead to a lack of

consistency and transparency when working with

other organisations. The creation of an established

home buying and selling guide for agents will

establish consistent practices within the industry and

expectations for other organisations involved.

IDENTITY CHECKS

Propertymark is working with Etive and other

industry stakeholders on a project to develop a

digital identity trust scheme for the home buying

and selling sector. Aligned to the eventual UK

Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework that

is being developed by the Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the development

of the Scheme, known as MyIdentity, will allow the

digital identity of a home buyer/seller to be veried

once and then be shared by the consumer used

throughout the rest of the sales transaction, based

on consent.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION

BETWEEN AGENTS,

CONVEYANCERS, AND

OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

Members from across England and Wales largely

agreed that the relationship between agents and

other industries needs to improve. A communication

breakdown often leads to delays, fall-throughs, and

a poor experience for clients.

To prevent this, there must be a clear commitment

to transparency and communication from all

organisations involved. Much of this can be

mitigated through improved relationships with

individual organisations. Good relationships with

local conveyancers and solicitors do improve the

process, as agreements can be reached on how to

collaborate effectively.

However, it was raised that building relationships

is very time-consuming and falls apart when key

individuals leave their organisation and new staff

take their place.

Joint guidance and or a Memorandum of

Understanding between relevant associations should

be introduced to improve joint working between all

organisations within sectors working throughout the

home buying and selling process. It should set out

clear roles and expectations for each, including best

practice guides on how to effectively collaborate.

One example was a ow chart to illustrate the

interactions between conveyancers and agents.

13PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

REAL-TIME ACCESS TO

INFORMATION AND DATA SHARING

Different forms of communication are seen as one of

the chief reasons for a breakdown in relationships

throughout the home buying and selling process.

Some organisations would rather meet in person or

discuss issues over the phone, while others preferred

text-based communication, some even via post.

This would lead to issues remaining unsolved, with

different organisations failing to meet each other

on mutually benecial terms. As a consequence,

information is often lost or missing. Additionally,

required forms and information shared can often

get lost or require updating which can take

signicant time and lead to a further breakdown

of communication.

One way to facilitate improved communication

and transparency with the status of required tasks

within the process is to ensure all organisations

always have access to real-time information, with

the recognition of some limitations due to protecting

sensitive information.

Introduce cross platforms where all those involved in

the home buying and selling process have access to

up-to-date real-time information that can be easily

shared by other parties when required. This follows

similar strategies set out by HMLR, with their HMLR

Strategy 2022+

A platform that

can facilitate the

home buying and

selling process

digitally would

greatly improve

transparency from

all organisations

involved.

Buying and selling a new home is likely to be one of

the most important transactions that an individual or

family will make. For consumers, especially people

who have not engaged with the home-buying process

for a lengthy period, buying or selling a home can

be an incredibly stressful experience. Although the

process can be simpler for rst-time buyers, the process

remains daunting for some.

Consumers in the UK can expect to move into a

home in around 12 to 22 weeks if the process runs

relatively smoothly. However, with so many processes

to consider such as the buying process and the transfer

of ownership, as well as many stakeholders to interact

with from estate agents to conveyancers, delays are

often inevitable and can severely hamper the process.

Improving the speed and

quality of the process

SECTION 2

The frustration of delays was well documented by

participants from across all parts of the UK, and there

did not appear to be a region that was immune from

the frustrations that delayed the home buying and

selling process.

While improving consistency and transparency can

improve the speed of the process, through agents

becoming more procient and experienced with the

expected process, there are additional ways in which

the speed and quality of the process can be improved.

LOCAL AUTHORITY SEARCHES

One aspect that is often outside of the control of

agents and other organisations working within

the process is the input from local authorities. A

shortage of local authority planning ofcers was

seen as one reason for slowing down the process

particularly when dealing with new build properties.

Statistics from the Local Government Association’s

2022 workforce survey found that almost six in ten

English local authorities could not recruit and retain

planning ofcers.

Another frustrating delay from local authorities was

the speed of local authority searches. This was

particularly highlighted in Wales and London, but

with signicant pressures on local authorities is likely

to be a factor across England and Wales.

Some participants in our research suggested there

is a post-code lottery on the time taken for local

authority searches. That being said, it was clear

that a lack of resources was partly to blame for the

delays caused.

Continued...

Governments need to support local authorities,

especially in rural areas, in the recruitment

and retention of specialist ofcers in planning

departments. The UK Government should also

publish local authority-level statistics of the time taken

to determine local authority searches. This could be

done to drive performance and support those local

authorities that are currently performing badly.

THE NEED TO EMBRACE

TECHNOLOGY

When we spoke to property agents about their

concerns with the performance and speed of the

home buying and selling process and how efcient it

was for consumers, there was widespread pessimism

from those in attendance. Unlike in many industries,

it was felt that there was widespread failure to

embrace new technology, which should speed the

process up and improve communication between

stakeholders such as agents and conveyancers.

This failure to embrace new technology has led to

little change in the industry over the last thirty years.

In fact, given that the process has become complex,

involving larger amounts of money and that people

are moving less than they have traditionally in the

past, some agents felt that the failure to adopt new

technology has led to even greater delays.

Propertymark is working with the Department for

Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and

property industry experts, who recognise that

identity proong is a frustrating part of the home

buying and selling process for consumers. The

process may involve consumers repeating the

verication process up to ve times, providing similar

information each time to different stakeholders.

This can also cause delays in the sales process and

unnecessary costs and frustration for all.

We recommend that agents engage with

government trials in adopting online platforms for

identity checks and proof of funds, which will cut

the time taken for consumers to prove their identity,

minimise the opportunity for errors along the process

and reduce the risk of fraud.

THE PERFORMANCE OF

ESTATE AGENTS

Estate agents were generally seen as performing

well in the process, although for some there was

considerable room for improving professional

standards, especially for new and less experienced

agents. The level of local knowledge was one

area of concern, which can be vital to streamline

the process, with a perception that smaller estate

agents appear exible to local problems and offer a

high degree of local knowledge and expertise. The

experience of the Propertymark membership was

that the level of local expertise from agents varied

considerably.

Additionally, there are critical gaps in agents’

knowledge of specic issues such as leasehold

clauses, cladding issues, and planning constraints

such as section 106 agreements. It was believed

that much like with ensuring consistent minimum

standards, regulating property agents would not just

set standards but raise them as well.

As a result, the quality and speed of the process can

be improved. Through the regulation of property

agents, minimum CPD should be set for estate agents

to become more knowledgeable about their local

area, with requirements for training in areas that

would usually delay property transactions such as

leasehold clauses, cladding issues and planning

constraints. This will ensure a quicker, higher quality

of service where barriers to the speed of the process

can be addressed by providing agents with greater

knowledge of the barriers to the home buying and

selling process.

SECTOR-WIDE COMMITMENT TO

IMPROVING THE PROCESS

In addition to issues of consistency of estate agents’

working practices, Propertymark members have

routinely spoken of how the practices of other

industries also interfere with their ability to progress

with a transaction.

While guides, including a sector-wide guide, can

help improve the speed of the process, without a

sector-wide commitment, there is no guarantee that

individual rms will follow any agreed standards

around the set process or standards

in communication.

As a result, while we would see some pockets

of improvement within the process, to increase

the speed and quality of the process on a cross-

national level, we would require a commitment from

professional industry bodies to improve the process.

Professional industry bodies representing all

industries involved must commit to promoting cross-

sector guidance and best practices to improve the

home buying and selling process. This can become

part of the requirements to become certied, with

cross-sector-approved guidance issued to members

on how to best collaborate with other industries

involved.

Propertymark

members have

routinely spoken of

how the practices of

other industries also

interfere with their

ability to progress

with a transaction.

17PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

Estimates vary on the number of property transactions

that fall through. Some organisations estimate that

fall-throughs in Q1 2023 were as high as 55.8%

although more recent gures appear to show the

number is closer to one in four property sales

. This

is an increase from Propertymark’s 2019 estimate of

one in ve property sales

. With every fall through

costing agents over £4,000

, this is a growing area

of concern.

Just like in most sales transactions, participants

agreed that to some extent some fall-throughs are

unavoidable. Sometimes a buyer simply changes their

mind because they nd a more appropriate property

Reducing fall throughs

SECTION 3

to meet their needs, have a change of heart or for

any other reason. A breakdown further up the chain,

legal issues and a seller deciding not to sell are also

commonly cited issues.

While there are unavoidable fall-throughs, it was clear

from participants that there was a lot an agent could

do to reduce fall-throughs by being organised, open

and transparent with buyers.

ENSURING PROSPECTIVE BUYERS

AND SELLERS ARE READY BEFORE

THE PROCESS BEGINS

There are cases where buyers and sellers have

approached agents where they do not understand

the full process of what they need to do to purchase a

property that a lack of resources was partly to blame

for the delays caused.

While this would primarily apply to clients who have

not bought or sold a house before, many clients can

be caught unaware of the amount of information they

need to provide especially if they are overcondent

due to their experience with the process beforehand.

Delays caused by a lack of understanding of how the

process works and property not being ready for the

market lead to breakdowns further up the chain and

legal issues not being resolved, which causes sales to

fall through.

There is, however, much that an agent can do to

enable buyers and sellers to be ready. The UK

Government has issued guidance for sellers and

buyers, which can be shared to ensure clients are

well-prepared. Agents would be able to go through

the guides and provide their advice to clients to ensure

they are ready and explore potential legal concerns

that can be resolved before the process begins.

17PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

PROVIDING INFORMATION BEFORE

THE HOUSE IS PUT UP FOR SALE

Before the house is put on the market, the agent has

an important role in providing as much information

as possible and must do their research diligently.

This was also seen as an area where the vendor can

support the agent by providing as much information

as possible on the property, being organised with

documentation and providing information that

is pertinent to the property such as utilities and

broadband. The seller should use this opportunity to

mention any problems with the property as early as

possible to avoid frustrating delays and fall-throughs.

There were some concerns that agents would be

reluctant to use information as part of the sales

process due to concerns about compliance with

data protection. However, it was felt agents should

provide as much information as possible and

should use the Propertymark Property Information

Questionnaire (PIQ) which is a vital tool for ensuring

agents meet their legal obligations under the

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations

and can help reduce fall throughs where a buyer

discovers an issue that can impact their decision

to purchase. This PIQ can then be shared with the

buyer and all other organisations involved in

the process.

It should be made a mandatory requirement for

agents to conduct property checks and ll in a

PIQ before the property is put on the market. This

will ensure that any unknown information can be

identied and resolved without the risk of delays

up the chain.

ENSURE GREATER COMMITMENT

FROM BUYERS AND SELLERS AFTER

AN OFFER IS MADE

While this sometimes cannot be avoided, for

example, if there is a drastic change in a buyer’s

circumstances, one way to avoid this is to ensure

that neither the buyer nor the vendor can pull out

of the transaction unless there are legal reasons or

there are serious issues with the property. While this

may lead to a reduction in the number of people

putting offers on properties, this would go some way

to prevent buyers from placing ill-advised offers—

reducing the number of fall-throughs.

This approach has been adopted in France, where

buyers have a seven-day cooling-off period after

making an offer, after which they cannot withdraw

from the sale. This synergises with our other

recommendations, whereby agents take more time

before an offer is made to ensure that both the

buyer and vendor are certain they would wish to

proceed and full information relating to a property is

available for both parties.

This would also prevent the seller from pulling out

of a sale just because an alternative buyer made a

better offer, thereby reducing the stress for buyers

who may have incurred substantial legal costs at this

point in the process.

Another way to prevent buyers and vendors from

pulling out of the sale once an offer has been made

is a greater commitment from agents to spend more

time ensuring the property, vendor and buyer are

ready for the sale.

The main reason transactions fall

through is when a buyer changes

their mind during the process.

19PROPERTYM ARK.CO.UK 19PROPERTYMARK.CO.UK

SOURCES:

1. Housing, England and Wales - Ofce for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

2. Northern Ireland Housing Statistics 2020-21 (communities-ni.gov.uk)

3. Monthly property transactions completed in the UK with value of £40,000 or above - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

4. Research on buying and selling homes (publishing.service.gov.uk)

5. Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All (gm1housing.co.uk)

6. A better deal: boosting competition to bring down bills for families and rms - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

7. www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-home-buying-and-selling-process-call-for-evidence

8. www.researchbriengs.les.parliament.uk/documents/SN06980/SN06980.pdf

9. HM Land Registry Strategy 2022+ - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

10. www.propertyreporter.co.uk/q1-sees-over-half-of-property-sales-fall-through-as-market-readjusts.html

11. www.quickmovenow.com/blog/signicant-drop-in-number-of-house-sales-falling-through

12. www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/report-shows-need-for-change-as-number-of-sales-falling-through-increases.html

13. www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/estate-agents-lose-over-4-000-for-every-property-sale-that-falls-through.html

Continue the

conversation

The ‘Propertymark members’ Facebook

group encourages networking, discussion

and collaboration to help you resolve day

to day issues. Cross-discipline debate

produces rich, transferable ideas and

resources for members.

Sharing best practice in

SCAN THE QR

CODE TO JOIN

To join the group, you

will be asked for your

membership number and to

agree to the group’s rules

SALES

LETTINGS

AUCTIONEERING

COMMERCIAL

VALUATIONS

Join today