The Home Buying Process Is About to Change and Here Is What It Means for You.

The way people buy and sell homes in the UK is changing, and if you are thinking about moving in Surrey or Greater London, it is worth understanding what is coming and how it affects you.

What are the reforms to the home buying process?

The government has announced major reforms to the home buying and selling process, aimed at cutting delays, reducing paperwork and stopping sales from falling through. The scale of the problem these changes are designed to address is significant: the average home purchase currently takes around 120 days, with one in three sales falling through and costing sellers around £400 million per year, while failed transactions cost the economy up to £1.5 billion annually.

At the heart of the reforms is a major shift to digital, with digital property logbooks and sales packs allowing trusted information to be shared securely between professionals and accessed by buyers and sellers in real-time. The government is also backing digital identity checks, electronic signatures and AI-assisted conveyancing to reduce fraud risk and accelerate transactions. 

The aim is that the reforms will cut buying times by around four weeks and save first-time buyers an average of £650. 

What does this mean in practice?

Upfront information packs

These will be provided by sellers before a buyer even makes an offer - a central part of the changes. The idea is that buyers will know far more about a property at an earlier stage, reducing the chance of surprises emerging late in the transaction and causing the sale to collapse.

This is good news for buyers. But it also raises an important point: more information upfront does not replace the need for an independent survey. A sales pack prepared by or on behalf of a seller will tell you what the seller wants you to know. A professional HomeBuyer Survey or Building Survey from a RICS-accredited surveyor like Bramptons and Son tells you what you need to know including anything that has been missed, overlooked or simply not disclosed.

Why surveys matter more, not less

A faster process is a welcome development. However, speed can create pressure to make decisions quickly, and that is precisely when having independent professional advice becomes most valuable. A survey is your opportunity to fully understand the condition of the property you are buying - its structure, its systems and any issues that could affect its value or cost you money down the line.

You can read more on why independent property surveys will still be needed in our blog here.

At Bramptons and Son, we are here to make sure that as the home buying process becomes faster and more digital, you still have the human, expert, independent assessment you deserve. Our local surveyors know Surrey and Greater London inside out, and we are committed to giving buyers the information they need to purchase with confidence.

Thinking about buying? Talk to us about the right survey for your property before you complete.