Homebuying isn’t slow because the data doesn’t exist. It’s slow because it arrives too late and can’t be reused. PEXA was delighted to partner with CtrlShift on a new report, based on its recent Smart Property Data Clinic, which captures the collective insights from leaders across property, finance and technology on how to fix that.
For several years, the property industry has focused on improving data in the homebuying process. Making information available earlier, ensuring it is consistent, and enabling it to move more easily between parties have all been seen as critical to reducing delays and improving outcomes.
That focus has been necessary. But recent insights from CtrlShift’s Smart Property Data Clinic suggest the conversation is starting to evolve.
Better data is essential, but it doesn’t address the full complexity of the homebuying process.
Rethinking the role of data in homebuying
A clear message from the report is that the data required to support property transactions already exists. The challenge is not its absence, but how it flows, how early it is available, how easily it can be shared and whether it can be trusted and reused across the transaction.
There are clear signs of progress, particularly in the move towards Smart Data, interoperability and standardisation. These developments can help address long-standing issues around fragmented data and the duplication of checks and information.
However, even as data improves, the experience of buying and selling property remains uncertain. Transactions take an average of 231 days to complete and around one in five fall through, often costing buyers more than £2,500.
Even with better data earlier in the process, successful outcomes rely on multiple parties aligning at the point of exchange and completion.
The “last mile” is where transactions still fail
The report makes clear that exchange and completion, often referred to as the ‘last mile’, remain the most fragile part of the process.
At this stage, multiple independent parties must come together. Buyers, sellers, lenders and conveyancers all need to reach agreement on timing, funding and risk at the same time. When that coordination breaks down, delays occur or transactions fail altogether.
Crucially, this risk persists even when earlier stages of the process improve. While Smart Data can help surface issues sooner and support better decision-making, it doesn’t remove the need for effective execution at the point of completion, where timing, money and dependencies must come together.
From data to coordinated execution
The report draws a clear distinction between data infrastructure – how information is created, shared and standardised – and transaction infrastructure, which enables parties to coordinate, commit and complete.
The industry has made meaningful progress on the first. Attention is now turning to the second.
Ultimately, having the right information isn’t enough. Successful completion still relies on coordinated, timely action at the final stage.
Why coordination remains the challenge
Across the property ecosystem, delays are rarely caused by a single missing piece of information. More often, they stem from dependencies across the chain, limited visibility of progress, and the challenge of aligning multiple participants simultaneously.
For consumers, the impact is significant. Uncertainty at the point of completion can lead to stress, additional cost and, in some cases, failed transactions after months of preparation.
This points to the need for system-level change. Many of the barriers identified cannot be solved by individual organisations acting alone, as improving outcomes depends on how effectively the process operates at the point of completion.
Delivering certainty at completion
Smart Data plays a critical role in improving readiness by making information available earlier and enabling better decision-making. But successful outcomes still depend on what happens at completion itself.
The opportunity now is to connect better data with the infrastructure that enables parties to align timing and complete transactions with greater certainty.
In its “Signals of Progress” section, the report highlights PEXA as a real-world example of how conveyancers, lenders and the banking system can work together more effectively to support completion. By bringing these parties into a single, integrated process, it helps reduce friction, align timing and improve certainty.
Ultimately, success in homebuying is not defined by how much information is available, but by whether a transaction completes securely, on time and with confidence. Progress will be defined by how effectively the final stages of the transaction are executed and the certainty it creates for homebuyers.