77% of webinar attendees are confident, but 48% say Burnham's arrival makes no difference
Most property professionals expect planned homebuying reforms to improve the process for the industry and consumers, according to a webinar poll by Countrywide Surveying Services (CSS).
The poll found 77% of respondents were positive about the proposed reforms, with 18% very confident and 59% somewhat confident. Another 21% were not very confident, and 2% believed the changes would never happen. CSS did not say how many attendees answered. The audience was self-selected, so the findings may not reflect the wider industry.
The poll was held during a webinar on upfront property information that drew more than 300 surveyors, brokers and lenders. The panel included representatives of CSS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Home Surveying Services and Landmark Information Group.
Attendees were also asked whether Andy Burnham's appointment made positive change in the housing market more or less likely. Some 36% said more likely, 16% said less likely and 48% said it made no difference. Burnham became prime minister on July 20.
Matthew Cumber, managing director at CSS, said: "What these findings suggest to me is that the debate has moved on. There seems to be broad acceptance that the homebuying process can work better, but the more important question now is how we turn that ambition into something that makes a genuine difference to transactions."
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What the government has proposed
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published its reform roadmap on June 19. It plans to require sellers and estate agents to provide "sales packs" before a property is marketed, covering matters such as the home's condition, leasehold costs and chain status.
The roadmap also includes binding conditional contracts, which could make a deal legally binding much earlier, potentially once an offer is accepted, with financial penalties for withdrawing without a valid reason. The government said that change would not take effect until sales packs are embedded. Legislation is planned by the end of this Parliament.
The government said one in three sales falls through, costing sellers about £400 million a year and the wider economy up to £1.5 billion. It put the average purchase at around 120 days. In the government's consultation, 79% of respondents backed mandatory upfront information, according to a summary by Quality Solicitors.
Angela Rayner, who returned as housing secretary under Burnham, is leading delivery, having taken over from Steve Reed, who announced the plans.
The roadmap brings no immediate changes. Early steps include guidance on listing information and a new code of practice for estate agents, with consultation on mandatory agent qualifications and work on binding contract proposals to follow in 2027 and 2028.
Some conveyancing professionals have questioned whether sales packs could add costs or administrative burden, and have compared them with the Home Information Packs that were withdrawn after criticism. Commentators have said success will depend on technology, standards and industry take-up.
Why it matters to brokers
Failed transactions come as housing activity softens. HMRC provisional data put seasonally adjusted residential transactions at 95,220 in August, while Bank of England figures showed 54,900 mortgage approvals for house purchase, the lowest since December 2023. Lloyds said approvals were 16.0% below a year earlier.
Cumber said reform must go beyond moving existing checks earlier. "The greater opportunity lies in making sure useful information is available early enough, in a format that can be shared and relied upon by the different parties involved, rather than repeatedly requested as a transaction progresses," he said.
He added that this "requires lenders, surveyors, conveyancers, estate agents, brokers and technology providers to think about the process as a whole rather than improving individual parts in isolation." If reform achieves that, Cumber said, "there is a real opportunity to reduce avoidable delays while giving buyers greater clarity about the property they are purchasing."
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