Two thirds of recent home movers say the experience of buying or selling a home has put them off moving again, according to research from the Open Property Data Association (OPDA).

The OPDA said 66% of recent movers were reluctant to go through the process again, with one in five saying they had been significantly deterred by the UK’s slow and stressful homebuying system.

The figure rose to 73% among 35 to 44-year-olds, a group traditionally viewed as second steppers, raising concerns that negative experiences could further restrict supply in the housing market.

FRUSTRATING

The survey of 5,000 home movers found that a third said the difficulty of buying or selling a home had affected family plans, while 31% said it had affected career moves and 28% said it had affected decisions around downsizing in later life.

OPDA said delays in exchanging contracts, repeated chasing for updates and duplicate requests for information remained major sources of frustration for buyers and sellers.

It said the average UK homebuying or selling transaction now takes 135 days to complete after an offer is accepted, compared with 93 days in 2019.

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, said: “These findings are a major alarm bell for the housing sector.

“If so many people are reluctant to move again, it’s going to have a significant impact on housing supply, worsening mobility, particularly for those already struggling at the bottom of the housing ladder.”

STRUCTURAL REFORM

And she added: “The current system in the UK is broken and needs deep structural reform. Embracing smart data will transform how we buy and sell property.

“With more upfront information and industry wide standards, we can deliver faster transactions, fewer fall throughs, and greater transparency.”

The findings point to a wider market issue, with fewer second steppers willing to move potentially limiting the availability of homes for first-time buyers.

OPDA, the industry body focused on modernising the homebuying and selling process through smart data, said reform would require collaboration across lenders, brokers, conveyancers, estate agents, technology firms, proptech businesses and government bodies.

SMART DATA STRATEGY

The government’s Smart Data Strategy, published last month, found that smart data for homebuying could create £14.1 billion in net social value and contribute £2.06 billion a year to UK GDP by 2043. OPDA said this made it the most economically significant smart data use case across the sectors studied.

Phil Spencer, property expert and founder of Move iQ, said: “We all know moving home is a stressful experience. But these findings suggest the process is so bad most people would rather stay put than contemplate moving again.

“Buying a new house should be exciting, not stressful. Digitalisation has transformed so many elements of our lives for the better, and the housing market needs to move out of the dark ages.

“A system built on smart data would make life better and happier for buyers, sellers and property professionals.”