Barriers stopping agents and conveyancers completing transactions are highlighted

Industry technology may be moving towards shared information, but more work needs to be done on communication and service between different parts of a transaction, research suggests.

It comes as the latest Voice of the Agent report found 72% of movers experience delays, but estate agents are down the pecking order when it comes to apportioning blame.

The report highlights that the average home move in Great Britain now takes 216 days from first listing to completion, with 72% of recent home movers experiencing a delay.

Among those who identified a responsible party, 50% blamed their conveyancer or solicitor, 40% the buyer or seller, and just 5% the estate agent.

There is also a substantial regional divide. Eight out of 10 London movers experienced delays, compared with 43% in Scotland, with delays also affecting 79% in the East Midlands, 78% in Wales and the North West, and 76% in the West Midlands.

Everybody owns part of the property transaction, but nobody owns the transaction.”

However, the report argues that simply identifying a culprit risks missing the bigger problem.

When estate agents were asked what would most improve relationships across the transaction, 33% chose faster communication and proactive updates, making it their clear number-one priority.

Another 25% wanted shared case tracking. Only 10% selected integrated digital systems.

Conveyancers saw the problem differently.

Their leading priority was better understanding of each profession’s role, at 23%, followed by clearer client expectations at 21%. Only 13% selected faster communication.

Mortgage advisers and brokers place equal importance on faster communication and agreed service standards, at 22% each, while 29% of surveyors believe none of the proposed interventions would materially improve working relationships.

The research also identifies a perception gap between estate agents and the professions they work with.

Two thirds of agents describe their relationship with conveyancers positively, compared with 50% of conveyancers describing their relationship with agents positively. The equivalent figures are 54% versus 44% for surveying and 58% versus 54% for mortgage advice.

Beyond technology

Simon Leadbetter (pictured), Founder of We Are Unchained and author of The Voice of the Agent, says: “Everybody owns part of the property transaction, but nobody owns the transaction. That may be the fundamental problem.

“A buyer or seller does not experience an estate agent transaction, followed by a mortgage transaction, followed by a surveying transaction and then a legal transaction. They experience one home move.

“Yet our research shows that the people delivering that move experience very different problems. Agents want information. Conveyancers want understanding. Mortgage professionals want service discipline. Surveyors are less convinced that systemic intervention is required.

“There is enormous investment going into upfront information, shared data, AI, digital identity and transaction platforms, and much of that is necessary. But remarkably few professionals told us integrated technology was the thing they most needed.

“The evidence suggests we also need to fix the spaces between the professions: expectations, communication, role clarity, service standards and visibility. Making four separate processes faster does not necessarily create one better transaction.”