The Open Property Data Association (OPDA) has urged the property industry to start preparing for digital home buying rather than wait for Government mandation, warning that firms risk falling behind if they delay changes to their processes.
The call came during the closing panel session of OPDA’s third annual general meeting on Tuesday 20 October. Industry figures from the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) discussed progress towards a more connected, data-driven property market, and the practical steps the steering group is delivering to get there.
Maria Harris, chair of OPDA, hosted the panel, which included fellow DPMSG delivery leads Kate Faulkner OBE, chair of the Home Buying and Selling Council, Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, Nick Boddington, director of strategic partnerships at HM Land Registry, and Stephen Ward, director of strategy at the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
The discussion covered progress on a shared vision for digital home buying and on securing the legislation and mandation to deliver it. Panellists stressed that change needs active participation from every part of the industry, from major lenders and technology providers to smaller estate agencies and conveyancing firms.
Harris (pictured) said: “We have reached an important point in the journey towards a more digital, connected property market. The Government has set out its direction of travel and roadmap commitments, DPMSG has been established as the delivery vehicle for digitisation, and the industry has already done a huge amount of work to establish the data model, standards, frameworks, and shared methodology needed to make this happen.”
“Organisations cannot afford to sit back and wait for the standards to be mandatory if they want to retain their competitor advantage and customer confidence. Businesses across the property chain need to start preparing now, engaging with the changes, and getting ready for smart data, trust frameworks, and accreditation. This means digitising your data and adopting the voluntary trust and accreditation standards today to make the home buying process better for everyone.”
Panellists pointed to changes already under way, with a growing number of firms adopting Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES), reusable digital identity verification (DVS) and Open Finance data. They said these developments show digital processes are already part of everyday property transactions rather than a distant ambition.
Businesses also do not need to wait for every element of the Government’s reform programme before making progress on digital home buying, the panel said. Lenders, conveyancers, estate agents and other professionals can start by reviewing existing processes, talking to clients and partners about digital data sharing, and considering how to collect material information upfront and reuse it more effectively.
The Government published its Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap in the summer, setting out timescales and an ambition to make the process quicker, more transparent and less prone to failure. The panel acknowledged, however, that businesses want to understand how the various workstreams fit together and what the changes mean for them in practice.
That led to a discussion on the need for a joined-up picture of the future home buying journey, including who is responsible for delivering each element of reform and what businesses should do now to prepare for smart data and mandation. The panel said better communication will be essential to turn progress across Government, regulators, trade bodies and industry groups into practical guidance for professionals handling transactions.
Harris noted: “We need to make the changes and implementation tools tangible and easy to understand for businesses. The more clearly we can show what a digitised journey looks like, the benefits it delivers, and how different parts of the industry are working together to get there, the easier it will be for firms to understand the role they have to play and to start making progress.”
The panel also stressed that reform must reach businesses of every size. Smaller and independent firms play a significant role in the property market and cannot be left behind as digital processes and trust standards develop. Industry-wide collaboration, practical guidance and effective communication will be needed for the benefits of reform to reach the whole market.
OPDA’s message to the industry was that digital reform is not about introducing new technology. In its view, the aim is a framework for trusted, consistent and reusable property information that lets professionals work more efficiently, cut unnecessary duplication and give consumers greater clarity and confidence in digital home buying and selling.
OPDA will continue to lead the delivery of digitisation standards and engagement with industry stakeholders and Government through the DPMSG delivery group and the Smart Data Council, supporting interoperable smart data standards and driving adoption of trusted data sharing across the mortgage and property industry.
