Proptech platform, Hiizzy, is developing a 'transaction-ready' model to transform how homes are bought and sold across the UK.
Hiizzy will bring key property and seller information together before an offer is agreed, including legal documents, forms and regulated searches - allowing the legal process to start sooner and giving buyers and sellers earlier and easier access to the information they need. This will reduce duplication and avoidable delays, whilst creating a more connected process between sellers, buyers, conveyancers, lenders, agents and other property professionals.
The platform provides private sellers with AI-assisted listing tools, property marketing, direct seller-buyer communication and access to professional services. They can also opt into marketing their property on Zoopla, while HM Land Registry and Street Data are amongst data partners.
Hiizzy has selected Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds as its first major UK growth market, within which Hiizzy can test and develop its model before expanding nationally.
Co-founders Allan Wood and Lewis Buckley (pictured) came up with the idea after completing a private property transaction between their own families.
Wood's son bought a home owned by Lewis Buckley's fiancée. Because the buyer and seller already knew one another, the transaction progressed directly between the two parties, with the main cost - beyond the purchase - being legal fees.
The experience prompted the founders to consider whether technology could bring some of that simplicity into the wider property market.
The launch comes as the UK housing market enters a new era of digital transformation. Government and industry initiatives are driving a fundamental shift towards better property information, fewer delays and faster, more transparent and more reliable transactions.
Research puts the average time from accepting an offer to completion at around 120 days and around 500,000 property transactions fall through each year - at an annual economic cost of approximately £1.5bn.
Hiizzy is a member of the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) and the Open Property Data Association (OPDA). It also participates in the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) Open Property Coalition - all of which are working to digitise and modernise the UK house buying process through open data, interoperability, digital identity and trusted data-sharing.
Allan Wood, co-founder and CCO of Hiizzy, said: “The UK housing market has a fundamental information and transparency problem during transactions. Key details are often missing, duplicated or gathered too late - creating delays, additional work and avoidable risks for the buyers, sellers and the intermediaries involved.
“Hiizzy is taking a different approach by capturing as much information as possible when a home first comes onto the market. We believe that is the earliest practical opportunity to get a property transaction-ready and capture the information needed further down the line. We’re going to be introducing technology that connects the information and processes sitting between the seller, estate agent, conveyancer, lender and buyer more quickly and efficiently.
“Listing a property should be more than a marketing exercise. If we can make a property transaction-ready at the earliest point, rather than starting that process only after an offer is accepted, we can fundamentally change the journey from listing to completion.
“The Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool tri-city region is a compelling launchpad for many reasons.
“It combines significant property transaction volumes - recently surpassing London, for the first time in 20 years - with a diverse housing market and a growing technology sector. It also offers a lower cost of customer acquisition, giving us an opportunity to build the platform in a large, dynamic market before investing in scale, for a nationwide marketing campaign.
“Consumers across the region are already accustomed to using digital services to research, compare and make significant purchasing decisions. This creates a strong foundation for a more technology-led approach to buying and selling property in a more transparent, efficient and accessible way - providing an appealing alternative for those who want greater control of their sale."
