Families to save hundreds of pounds through major homebuying overhaul
· Buying or selling a home to be faster, cheaper, and easier under common-sense reforms
· First-time buyers to save £710 on average, putting money back into people’s pockets
· Proposals will halve number failed transactions, preventing last minute fall throughs, slashing weeks off the process and driving up standards across the board
Hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers set to save £710 on average when buying a home, along with vital time and energy, thanks to the biggest shakeup to the homebuying system in this country’s history.
Proposals unveiled by the government today (Monday 6 October) will speed up the long-drawn out and costly process of buying a home by four weeks, saving people money and unnecessary stress, alongside wider reforms to rewire a chaotic system which has become a barrier to homeownership.
It will see sellers and estate agents required under the plans to provide buyers with vital information about a property upfront, including the condition of the home, leasehold costs, and chains of people waiting to move. This will help end nasty surprises which result in last-minute collapses and give greater confidence to first-time buyers making one of life’s most important decisions.
Binding contracts could also be introduced to stop people walking away from agreements after buyers painstakingly spend months in negotiations. This will help halve the number of failed transactions, so precious time and money don’t go to waste, as well as avoid heartbreak and stress for hard-working people looking for the perfect home.
Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, said:
“Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare.
“Our reforms will fix the broken system so hardworking people can focus on the next chapter of their lives.
“Through our Plan for Change we are putting more money back into working people’s pockets and making a simple dream a simple reality.”
Thanks to new reforms proposed today, families could see clear, side-by-side information on estate agents and conveyancers – including their track record and expertise, alongside new mandatory qualifications and Code of Practice to drive up standards and rebuild trust in the industry.
These proposals will speed up the sluggish housing market by halving the number of failed sales, costing the economy £1.5 billion a year, and the government estimates reforms could accelerate transactions by around four weeks. A full roadmap to fix the broken system will be set out in the new year.
This follows the Housing Secretary’s latest pledge to ‘Build, baby, build’, leaving no stone unturned to build 1.5 million homes and break down the remaining barriers to development that stand in the way of meeting this target.
The latest housing supply figures show some green shoots of recovery, with a 29% increase in housing starts compared to last year, and the government is going further and faster to unleash the biggest era of housebuilding in the country’s history.
Commenting on the announcement, Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, said:
“Propertymark welcomes the UK Government’s renewed commitment to reforming the home buying and selling process, with a clear focus on digitisation, transparency, and stronger consumer protection – all underpinned by mandatory professional qualifications for property agents.
“Embedding recognised standards is essential to raising professionalism, giving consumers greater confidence, and ensuring consistently higher levels of service.
“Equally, it is vital that reforms are evidence-based and informed by those who understand the realities of the sector on the ground. Agents work with buyers and sellers every day, and their experience will be crucial to ensure changes are practical, proportionate, and effective.”
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