More than three-quarters of property professionals polled by Countrywide Surveying Services believe proposed homebuying reforms will deliver positive change for the industry and consumers.
A poll conducted during the latest CSS webinar found 77% were confident about the impact of reform, including 18% who were very confident and 59% who were somewhat confident.
A further 21% said they were not very confident, while 2% believed the changes would never happen.
The webinar attracted more than 300 property professionals, including surveyors, mortgage brokers and lenders, and focused on whether upfront property information could improve the buying and selling process.
UPFRONT INFORMATION
Discussion centred on making useful property information available earlier in a transaction and ensuring it can be shared and relied upon by the different parties involved.
Matthew Cumber (main picture, inset), Managing Director at Countrywide Surveying Services, says: “What these findings suggest to me is that the debate has moved on.
“There seems to be broad acceptance that the homebuying process can work better, but the more important question now is how we turn that ambition into something that makes a genuine difference to transactions.”
Cumber says simply moving existing checks and documents to an earlier stage will only go so far.
TRANSACTION DELAYS
He adds: “The greater opportunity lies in making sure useful information is available early enough, in a format that can be shared and relied upon by the different parties involved, rather than repeatedly requested as a transaction progresses.
“That requires lenders, surveyors, conveyancers, estate agents, brokers and technology providers to think about the process as a whole rather than improving individual parts in isolation.”
Cumber says achieving that could help reduce avoidable transaction delays while giving buyers greater clarity about the properties they are purchasing.
