More than three-quarters of property professionals believe proposed changes to the homebuying and selling process will have a positive impact, according to a poll by Countrywide Surveying Services (CSS).

The survey found 77% of respondents were confident that reforms would deliver positive change for the industry and consumers, including 18% who were very confident and 59% who were somewhat confident.

By comparison, 21% said they were not very confident, while 2% believed the proposed changes would never happen.

The poll was conducted during the latest CSS webinar, which examined the role of upfront property information and how changes could work in practice across the homebuying process.

More than 300 property professionals attended the session, including surveyors, mortgage brokers and lenders.

HOUSING MARKET OUTLOOK

Attendees were also asked about the appointment of Andy Burnham and whether it made positive change in the UK housing market more likely.

Some 36% believed the appointment increased the likelihood of positive change, while 16% thought it made it less likely. The remaining 48% said it made no difference.

The webinar panel included Andrew Peters, associate director, technical services at CSS; Luay Al-Khatib, director of the RICS Future Innovation Hub at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; Joe Miller, chief executive and founder of Home Surveying Services; and Michael Holden, divisional director at Landmark Information Group.

The session was hosted by Matthew Cumber, managing director at CSS.

UPFRONT PROPERTY INFORMATION

Cumber (pictured) 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.

“Upfront property information, including condition reports are a good example. Simply moving existing checks or documents to an earlier point in the process will only get us so far.

“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.

“That 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 can achieve that, there is a real opportunity to reduce avoidable delays while giving buyers greater clarity about the property they are purchasing.”