House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement
Homeowners next steps
10 February 2025 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Proposed by Rushanara Ali Lab Bethnal Green and Stepney
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
At a glance
Key points
- The UK's home buying and selling process currently takes an average of 21 weeks.
- The government aims to modernise property transactions through digitalisation and common data standards.
- A long-term housing strategy will be published later in the year.
Issue summary
The statement addresses the inefficiencies in the UK's home buying and selling process, which takes an average of 21 weeks compared to 4 weeks in Norway.
Action requested
The government has announced plans to modernise and streamline property transactions through digitalisation, introducing common data standards, electronic signatures, and working with the Digital Property Market Steering Group. A long-term housing strategy will be published later this year.
Key facts
- The average home buying and selling process takes 21 weeks in the UK.
- In Norway, similar processes take as little as 4 weeks.
- One in three transactions fall through annually, costing households £400m in direct costs.
- A package of measures will pilot digital approaches to property data.
- Common data standards across the home buying and selling sector are committed to.
- HMLR information will be used to drive proptech innovation.
- The Digital Property Market Steering Group, consisting of industry representatives and government experts, will work on this initiative.