The Burnham bounce has brought house buyers back, now Britain has a chance to make moving easier

Higher mortgage costs and uncertainty over the economy and tax have made buyers more cautious, even where the desire to move has remained. That matters because housing markets depend on confidence almost as much as affordability, with people needing to believe that now is a reasonable time to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

Against that backdrop, the reported 5% rise in buyer demand since Andy Burnham entered Downing Street is significant. It is far too early to call it a sustained recovery, but it suggests some of the hesitation that had been holding buyers back may be beginning to lift.

For the property industry, however, getting people through the door of an estate agent is only half the challenge, because if this renewed confidence is going to translate into completed transactions rather than another burst of pent-up demand, attention now needs to turn to what happens after a buyer decides to move.

Why the real test starts after the offer is accepted

Although having an offer accepted feels like a major milestone, for many buyers it is also the point at which some of the most complicated and uncertain parts of the transaction begin.

Through my work with Moving Compared, I think this is the stage that deserves far more attention, particularly when UK-wide data cited by the Government puts the average property transaction at around 170 days and shows that more than one in five transactions initially fall through.

Spending nearly six months wondering whether a purchase that affects almost every part of your life will actually happen creates a level of uncertainty that few other major financial decisions entail.

A new Prime Minister cannot eliminate every collapsed chain or difficult survey, and nor should we pretend that every transaction can be reduced to a few clicks, particularly in a market where confidence remains fragile, mortgage approvals have been under pressure and transaction times remain a concern.

Buying a home involves lenders, conveyancers, surveyors, estate agents and, in many cases, several other buyers and sellers further along the chain.

There are legitimate checks that need to occur before a transaction can proceed safely, and the challenge is not removing those safeguards but making the process around them clearer and easier for consumers to navigate.

That also makes the choice of conveyancer and surveyor an important part of the process, because price will inevitably matter, particularly when household finances are stretched.

Communication and relevant experience can also influence how smoothly a move proceeds, especially when a professional understands the specific property or transaction involved.

Turning renewed confidence into smoother moves

Much of the frustration in home buying comes not from the checks themselves, but from the uncertainty surrounding them. Buyers can reach an advanced stage before important information about a property emerges, while communication between different parties can become fragmented along the way.

Giving consumers a clearer way to compare conveyancers and surveyors on more than price alone, including the service they provide and their experience with a particular type of transaction or property, can help buyers make a more informed decision at the outset.

Burnham has also inherited an opportunity to tackle the problem at a structural level. The home-buying reforms announced in June propose putting more property information up front and expanding the use of digital property records to create greater certainty earlier in the transaction.

The Government has said the package could eventually cut around four weeks from the process, although much of the roadmap will be phased in over the coming years.

That direction of travel is important because Britain does not necessarily need to make buying a home simplistic, but it does need to make the process less opaque.

Making information available earlier and services better connected could help prevent avoidable surprises from appearing weeks or months into a transaction, while giving consumers greater confidence in the professionals they rely on.

A little more political optimism and greater certainty over tax may bring hesitant buyers back into the market. However, neither will count for much if those buyers then enter a system where completing a purchase can still consume the best part of half a year.

If Burnham wants this early bounce to become something more meaningful, the measure of success should not simply be how many people want to move, but how many can actually make it through the process with greater certainty and fewer unnecessary delays before finally getting the keys in their hands.

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Tom Durbin St George is the CRO of Moving Compared

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