While nearly every other part of our lives has been disrupted and improved by technology, the UK’s housing market has really failed to innovate for quite some time.

Zoopla’s entry onto the scene in 2007, almost 20 years after the popularisation of the world wide web, was a turning point for buying and selling homes.

Instead of trawling local newspapers or visiting estate agents in person, those looking to move house could now access a searchable online property portal compiling listings in their area.

However, the technology only really benefited those buying a home. The process of selling a home hasn’t got much easier, and certainly hasn’t got any quicker.

Indeed, the transaction process is still an exceptionally drawn out affair, riddled with points at which the deal could fall through.

Once an offer is accepted, sellers still need to negotiate a draft contract, exchange contracts, move out, complete the sale, pay off the mortgage and settle up with the conveyancing solicitor and estate agent.

ibuying

TheAdvisory, which offers independent advice for house sellers, puts the average time to sell a house from marketing to legal completion at just over four months.

During this period, one of the most stressful events to happen is the chain collapsing, with Dawsons Property data suggesting almost a third of transactions fall through.

First among these reasons is the chain collapsing, but a poor survey, financial issues or a change of heart also rank highly.

A recent survey by the Homeowners Alliance calculated that the average cost of a failed property transaction comes in at £2,700, meaning that the chain breaking doesn’t only mean a huge amount of wasted time and effort, but significant amounts of money wasted on fees, too.

All in all, selling a home is a time-consuming, stressful, and costly process.

Just as online estate agents encouraged high street agents to innovate through their easy-to-use platforms and transparent pricing, disruption tends to be a good thing for the overall health of a sector from a consumer perspective, forcing businesses to improve their offering lest their customers be snagged by the more innovative competition.

UPSTIX is an iBuyer – or ‘instant buyer’ – that uses technology to solve many of the pain points traditionally associated with home sales.

Using the same machine learning and AI-driven predictive models used by high street banks, UPSTIX’s data-driven valuation is then physically appraised by local estate agent partners.

The resulting cash offer is guaranteed, which means there’s no possibility of a change of heart, lack of funds, or any other way of breaking the property chain.

The transaction can be completed in as little as seven days, but the speed of the sale is ultimately the decision of the home seller.

We don’t think that iBuying is right for everyone. It’s geared towards people who need to release equity quickly.

But the clunky and outdated process of selling a home needs an injection of fresh thinking. We believe that iBuying will be the breath of fresh air that the industry so desperately needs.

Read more about Upstix.