Housing market reform & what it means for you

The government has shocked the housing & estate agency world this morning – announcing a much-needed shake-up to the industry – in advance of the Autumn budget.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed has announced major reforms to make buying a home faster, cheaper & fairer – with the aim of halving the (almost 50%!) of failed sales that are on-going in the current system & cutting weeks off transaction times (which are currently 17 weeks on average in a chain & 12-14 weeks chain-free, often longer).

Under the new proposals, estate agents & sellers will have to provide key property info upfront – like condition, lease details & chains: helping buyers make informed decisions earlier.

Potential savings being muted by the newspapers are:

• First-time buyers: ~£710

• Chain buyers: ~£400

• Up to four weeks faster completions

The government is also exploring “Scottish system style” binding contracts to stop last-minute walkaways (a personal, borderline immoral pet hate of ours) as well as introducing a mandatory Code of Practice for estate agents & conveyancers, which can only be good news for the industry.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed says the plan will “fix the broken system” & put “more money back into working people’s pockets.”

A full roadmap is due early next year & is all part of the government’s goal to build 1.5 million new homes & get them built, sold & lived in quickly, to turbocharge the economy.

What do we think…?

Kind of you to ask…

Done right, it is blooming amazing.

The current system is archaic, glacial & unfair.

But nobody we have been speaking to in the housing sector over this past year – from construction to conveyance & estate agent to land agent, now matter how slick they are – saw this one coming.

But it’s something we ALL talk/gripe about: how ridiculous the English house purchasing system is, how slow, how unfair, how insane it is to have to bid on the single most important purchase of your life, effectively blind; with hyperbolic, poor (& all too often false) information favoured over real world facts about what you are buying!

And then we have a legal system that is unclear, incredibly slow, really clunky & seems to be designed to pit buyer Vs seller – in dire need of reform.

And the idea that a revised system might force buyers to put their money where their mouth is when offering on a property & to expedite a process that is unnecessarily long-winded, convoluted & unclear, is music to our ears.

After months of negativity (& IMO some shocking & poor decisions from this government…) it is such a breath of fresh air to hear somebody do something sensible.

And see the light.

Done right, this reform should make the house buying process clearer, fairer & faster.

And it means the part of the transaction we represent – the buyer – should finally actually be armed with proper information from the get go, enabling them to make informed decisions, prior to conveyances starting.

Currently, the whole process is taking half a year from seller listing to property sold – which is utterly ridiculous.

People are making BIG decisions putting their house on the market & moving home: it should be faster, safer & more secure for all. And these proposals will surely help with this.

Of course, as the process becomes faster, more regulated & more transparent, buyers will crave expert interpretation, negotiation power & risk management – exactly what professional buying agents like Flint Homes excel at.

Our clients will be in a stronger position than ever in a sharper, faster, smarter process.

And we will be proud to be at the forefront of this change & a vital part of the new, transparent property era – where strategic buying & due diligence will never be more important. Bring. It. On.

The government’s newly announced housing market shake-up aims to make buying a home more efficient – cutting transaction times by up to four weeks & halving the number of failed sales.

For homebuyers, this could be transformative.

For buying agents like us, it’s an opportunity.

Under the new proposals, sellers & estate agents will be legally required to provide key property information upfront – from lease details to structural issues & chain positions. This transparency is designed to reduce costly fall-throughs & boost confidence among buyers.

But more information doesn’t automatically mean less risk. The real value now lies in interpreting that data – knowing what’s important, what’s missing & where the negotiation leverage lies.

That’s where professionals like us come into our own.

At Flint Homes, we see these reforms as a chance to give clients even greater confidence when making big decisions. With the potential for binding offers & stricter professional standards, early due diligence will matter more than ever & experienced, expert advice will make all the difference.

Buying a home may soon become far faster – so it will never be more important to act smarter, be strategic & buy safely.

Flint Homes is all over it!

We are here for you to guide you every step of the new path.