Property transactions now take an average of 123 days from instruction to completion, according to Landmark Information Group’s report, ‘An industry aligned: Moving towards certainty’.
This is up 18% since 2019 and 64% since 2007.
The report found delays are down to ongoing issues in the process, not short-term market changes.
Consumers said their ideal time from Sold Subject to Contract to completion would be 6.78 weeks.
Nearly nine out of 10 (89%) sellers said they would instruct a conveyancer before listing if it meant a quicker sale.
Three quarters (75%) said they would pay their agent upfront for better data sharing and seven in 10 (71%) said they would do the same with their conveyancer.
Additionally, Landmark’s research found 78% of law firms now use artificial intelligence (AI) to support fee earners, double the number from 2024.
75% of lenders expect AI to improve customer engagement within five years, up from 46%.
Protracted transaction timescales remain the property market’s biggest pressure point, cited as a top three frustration by 42% of conveyancers, 40% of lenders and 32% of agents.
When asked what would improve the home moving process, 47% of consumers wanted better communication between parties, 42% wanted better technology to support this and 36% wanted clearer explanations of legal checks and searches.
Simon Brown, CEO at Landmark Information Group, said: “The research reinforces a trend we’ve been tracking for some time – property transactions are taking longer because certainty still arrives too late.
“Too much critical legal, identity and risk information only enters the process once a deal is already underway.
“The result is extended timelines, rising anxiety and an increased risk of derailment for one of the most emotional and expensive purchases people will ever make.”
Brown added: “Last year marked a pivotal moment for the UK property market, as the industry aligned behind Project 28: A Charter for faster, more certain property transactions.
“This blueprint for industry change outlines that the solution is not more status updates or dashboards, but earlier certainty.
“Starting legal work, risk detection, identity and data curation at the point of listing, and then letting technology amplify a better-designed process will make transactions quicker and easier for everyone.”
He said: “We’ve now reached an inflection point for the property industry, as our latest findings show that professionals and consumers are united around a shared appetite for greater certainty.
“Political and economic turbulence will always form part of the backdrop, but by mobilising around better-connected, earlier-stage processes, the industry has a real opportunity to deliver transactions that are more resilient, predictable and reliable.”
