Around two-thirds of homebuyers say the experience of buying and selling property has discouraged them from moving again, according to new research from the Open Property Data Association.
The study found that 66% of recent movers are reluctant to repeat the process, with one in five saying it has significantly deterred them, citing delays and administrative friction within the UK system. Among 35-44-year-olds – typically second steppers – the figure rises to 73%.
Respondents said the process has had wider impacts, with 34% reporting disruption to family plans, 31% to career moves and 28% to downsizing decisions.
Based on a survey of 5,000 movers, the research highlights ongoing issues including delays at exchange, poor communication and repeated information requests. Transactions currently take an average of 135 days to complete after an offer is accepted, up from 93 days in 2019.
The findings indicate a potential constraint on housing supply, particularly as fewer second steppers re-enter the market, limiting opportunities for first-time buyers.
Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, said: “These findings are a major alarm bell for the housing sector. If so many people are reluctant to move again, it’s going to have a significant impact on housing supply, worsening mobility, particularly for those already struggling at the bottom of the housing ladder.
“The current system in the UK is broken and needs deep structural reform. Embracing smart data will transform how we buy and sell property. With more upfront information and industry wide standards, we can deliver faster transactions, fewer fall throughs, and greater transparency.”
Phil Spencer, TV property presenter and founder of property advice website Move iQ, commented: “We all know moving home is a stressful experience. But these findings suggest the process is so bad most people would rather stay put than contemplate moving again.
“Buying a new house should be exciting, not stressful. Digitalisation has transformed so many elements of our lives for the better, and the housing market needs to move out of the dark ages. A system built on smart data would make life better and happier for buyers, sellers and property professionals.”
The jump from 93 to 135 days is alarming but not surprising. Most of that delay isn’t happening because the system is fundamentally broken. It’s happening because progression is still managed manually in most agencies. Negotiators are chasing solicitors by phone, chasing updates that haven’t changed, and relaying information between parties who could be updated automatically.
The “repeated information requests” point in the survey is telling. That’s a workflow problem. If the same data is being asked for multiple times across different stages, it means nobody has a single view of where the transaction actually stands.
Smart data at an industry level will take years. But agencies that tighten up their own progression tracking and communication today will already be completing faster than their competitors. That’s not a technology problem, it’s a discipline problem.
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You’re not wrong about discipline, but this isn’t just on agents.
Why aren’t conveyancers’ systems set up to push automatic updates to agents and clients at least weekly, and instantly when something actually changes?
Most of the chasing calls happen because no one knows what’s going on. If a case management system just emailed “searches ordered”, “searches back”, “. X enquiries raised”, “x enquiries answered”, people would stop ringing.
Right now it’s reactive. Someone picks up the phone because they feel in the dark.
Sort that, and you’d help. This is basic workflow and comms, not some future “smart data” fix.
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