Property Review - July 2026
Thank you Howard Davis for writing this article. Howard is Managing Directory of Howard Independent East Agents.
Goal
Howard compares the World Cup with the property market this summer.
Reaching a football World Cup final is a journey packed with dramatic twists and turns, and often some massive strokes of luck.
Buying a property is rather similar. The path is rarely simple, and even the best-laid plans frequently unravel.
In 1972, baby boomer buyers enjoyed a swift turnaround, with the average gap between agreeing a sale and exchanging contracts lasting just 21 to 28 days. By 2010 that window in England and Wales had widened to around 40 days. Today it has ballooned to a staggering 120 days or more.
What went wrong? We took our eye off the ball and ignored a creeping menace: time. Simply put, the longer the gap between agreement and exchange the more room there is for things to go wrong - much of it entirely out of everyone’s control.
That is why it is reassuring to see a government finally step in to strip a major element of risk from the conveyancing process.
New legislation aims to streamline home buying by introducing sales packs and rolling out digital property logbooks, both designed to slash time-consuming bureaucracy. Crucially, agreements between buyers and sellers will become legally binding the moment an offer is formally accepted. This single shift should help eliminate the plagues of gazumping, gazundering, and buyers or sellers pulling out late in the game without a valid reason.
Together, these reforms are expected to cut transaction times by about four weeks and significantly reduce the number of collapsed sales.
Compared with the efficiency of 1972 a four-week reduction might not sound like a massive leap, but it is a vital start. If the next prime minister can show the same resolve in tackling affordability, house building, and stamp duty, we might finally see a fair, balanced property market underpinned by a modern conveyancing system that is fit for purpose.
The route to World Cup glory will never get any easier. But buying a house actually could. Let us hope this legislation marks our first major win on that path.
