In the following piece, David Castling, Head of Intermediary Distribution at Atom bank, explores why the homebuying journey remains stubbornly slow and stressful for borrowers and brokers alike. He argues that by embracing smarter use of technology and greater collaboration across the sector, the industry can deliver a faster, more transparent process that benefits everyone involved.
Buying a home is – understandably – often cited as one of the most stressful experiences any of us go through. There are many different factors at play here, from the amount of money involved to the fact that it’s a big process most people only go through a few times in their lives.
But there’s also the speed, or rather lack of it. Buying a property can be an incredibly slow process, and it’s that snail’s pace combined with a lack of transparency that can be behind many sleepless nights for all involved parties.
Yet if the industry gets better at incorporating technology throughout the process, from the initial enquiry to completion, we can ensure borrowers enjoy a faster, more transparent and ultimately less stressful journey, whether they are taking their first or last step on the housing ladder.
Taking too long
Recent analysis from TwentyCi highlights not only how slow the housebuying process can be, but the regional variations involved too.
The average time to exchange is now 123 days, the equivalent of about 4.1 months, which is a long period of time. But in certain areas it’s even more protracted. In Outer London and the East of England, TwentyCi found that the time to exchange last year was an average of 4.6 months, just ahead of 4.5 months in the South East.
By contrast, in Scotland it takes less than three months to get a transaction over the line.
More speed, less stress
It’s important to understand why speed matters. For buyers and sellers, going through the emotional and financial turbulence that a sale or purchase represents, there is obviously a lot of stress involved. If we have a housebuying process that is open, clear and moves quickly, then some of that stress is undoubtedly going to be removed.
If the process was faster, brokers would benefit too. There would be fewer phone calls and emails from worried clients, less time spent chasing updates from lenders and solicitors over the progress of a case. They would also see the fruits of their efforts more quickly – the faster the deal gets over the line, the sooner the broker gets paid.
For everyone involved, a faster housebuying process would be preferable to what we currently have.
Why technology is the key
If we want the system to be faster and more transparent, then technology has to play a bigger role.
We have seen real strides forward on this front over the last few years, with lenders waking up to the potential improvements technology offers. As an app-based bank, we have always believed the smart incorporation of technology could help us raise standards, so it’s been gratifying to see the market as a whole begin to recognise what’s possible.
Organisations like the Open Property Data Association, of which Atom bank was a founding member, are helping to push the sector as a whole to embrace innovation, find better ways of working together and sharing data which can provide a faster journey for our customers.
However, across the mortgage market there remains too many areas where manual processes are relied on, slowing things down, when automation could do a faster, more reliable job. Lenders need to ensure that their broker portals are up to scratch, gathering the most relevant information about a case and allowing for an informed decision to be made as quickly as possible.
The right technology can bring transparency to progress, ensuring that all interested parties are kept up to date on what’s happening instantly, and what needs to happen for the case to move forwards. Think of the time and effort wasted on emails, letters and phone calls, chasing updates or to work out what’s holding up a transaction. If we get the technology right, we can completely cut those out.
It’s important to bear in mind that advocating for technology does not mean replacing the human touch but rather utilising technology in ways which take on some of the heavy lifting, allowing those staff to focus their efforts where they will be most effective.
We have seen it first hand at Atom bank, with cases completed in a fraction of the time they once would have taken.
It isn’t a question of being quick for its own sake, but a recognition of the fact that our homebuying and selling process is too slow and too stressful. If we can bring technology in throughout the process, we can make it faster, reduce that stress, and deliver a real positive impact for our clients.
It’s what should motivate all of us, across the industry.
David Castling is Head of Intermediary Distribution, Atom bank
