Unlocking Economic Growth Through Faster and Easier Home Moves

There is a powerful argument that increasing the volume of residential moves from around one million a year to two million, would give a major boost to the UK economy - and that this should therefore be one of the government’s core strategies for growth. The reason is simple: people who move home are among the country’s most active consumers, fuelling demand for a broad range of goods and services. Yet for too many people, the barriers of time, stress, and cost prevent them from moving when they need to.

Why would more frequent home moves stimulate economic growth, what are the key obstacles in the current system, and what can government and industry do to unlock the potential of a faster, more efficient property market? Read on.

The Link Between Home Moves and Economic Growth

1. Significant Consumer Spending
   Moving home triggers a wide spectrum of spending. Besides removal services, homebuyers often invest in new furniture, appliances, home improvements, interior décor, and more. According to various studies, home movers typically spend thousands of pounds on extra services and purchases in the first few months after moving. TwentyCi, in their Property & Homemover Report, value this spend at £29 billion annually. This surge in predictable consumer activity (3x higher than that of a non-mover) provides a critical stimulus to the broader economy, driving demand not just for physical goods but also for tradespeople and professional services.
2. Labour Market Mobility
   A flexible housing market makes it easier for workers to relocate for better job opportunities. Reducing the friction in buying and selling property encourages people to move closer to emerging economic hubs, boosting productivity and aligning skills with the regions where they are needed most. Enhanced labour mobility could be especially valuable for ‘levelling up’ regions outside London and the South East, aligning well with the government’s broader economic objectives.
3. Property Chain Fluidity
   A more frequent turnover in housing stock helps ease the flow through the entire property chain. First-time buyers, upsizers, downsizers, and property investors all rely on each other to complete transactions. When one group is held back, it has a knock-on effect on everyone else. As ViewMyChain is frequently pointing out, a property can only move as quickly as the slowest link in the chain. By shortening and simplifying the end-to-end process and reducing uncertainty, the market as a whole becomes more dynamic and can achieve a significantly higher number of successful moves each year.

Two Key Barriers: Cost and Complexity

1. The Cost Factor

The first, and most understandable barrier that discourages many potential movers is the cost of transacting, with Stamp Duty often cited as a major hurdle. While the debate around stamp duty reform is ongoing - and merits a blog post of its own - the essential takeaway is that the high cost deters homeowners from moving as frequently as they might like.

2. The Complexity, Time, and Stress of the Process

The second, painfully obvious barrier is the sheer complexity and length of the home buying and selling process in England and Wales. In many cases, it takes several months from listing a property to moving in - often 16 weeks or more between offer and completion. The reasons for delays are multi-faceted: lengthy local authority searches, antiquated paper-based procedures, slow mortgage approvals, and the challenges of coordinating long property chains. To add insult to injury, these reasons are seldom present one at a time, but rather, compound to turn even the simplest transactions into a frustrating experience.

This issue of time and complexity creates a psychological barrier - people dread the process, and so many simply decide to stay put. Compare this to markets such as Australia, where the conveyancing process is often much faster, in part due to more digitised systems and simpler legal structures with - on a housing stock adjusted basis - around 50% more moves. By contrast, in England and Wales, the long delays, last-minute issues, and potential fall-throughs traps people in homes that no longer suit their needs.

There is clearly a professional services capacity issue in the mix as well but, in a world where the process has been comprehensively re-engineered, one would hope that this would result in the removal of repetitive drudgery and monotonous routines leaving a cleaner process where true professional value add will out.

The Case for Reducing the Process to Under A Month

If the UK could streamline its property transaction process to under a month, the UK generally would be in a healthier state. Here’s why:

1. Greater Willingness to Move
   A shorter, simpler transaction not only reduces uncertainty but also lowers the emotional and logistical costs of moving. People become more willing to ‘right-size’ - trading up, down, or relocating for work - if they know the entire process will be completed in a reasonable timeframe.
2. Enhanced Economic Gains
   Doubling the number of annual moves from one million to two million would multiply the economic knock-on effects: more tradespeople employed, more goods sold, more professional services engaged. At scale, the difference in transactions would generate a significant contribution to GDP.
3. Better Regional Mobility
   Faster moves allow regions to attract new residents more efficiently, as job-seekers and families can move for employment or education without the fear of getting stuck in lengthy transactional chains. This can help to rebalance economic activity across regions.
4. Innovation in the Property Sector
   Simplifying and speeding up the property process could pave the way for more advanced property technology (PropTech) solutions. Digital ID verification, electronic signatures, streamlined mortgage approvals, and transparent data-sharing could all drastically reduce completion times, modernising the UK’s housing market and providing spin off benefits into other sectors. 

Pathways to Achieving a Faster Transaction Process

1. Digitisation of Property Transactions

Fully embracing digital workflows is essential. Digitising forms, adopting secure electronic signatures, and integrating data from various stakeholders (estate agents, local authorities, mortgage lenders, etc.) can help eliminate errors, reduce duplication, and speed up each stage of the transaction.

2. Streamlined Legal and Regulatory Framework

Government support for legal reforms is vital. This could include modernising Land Registry systems, mandating quicker turnaround times for local authority searches, and encouraging uniform standards for property information. Reducing duplications (for instance, multiple parties obtaining the same local search or ID check in the chain) would further compress timeframes.

3. Centralised and Transparent Documentation

Centralising property information through digital logbooks or property passports can give buyers and sellers upfront details about a property’s status before any formal offer is made. This pre-contract transparency is already used to great effect in some international markets, expediting the due diligence stage and lowering the risk of last-minute surprises.

4. Active Government Involvement

No single private sector stakeholder can deliver a wholesale reduction in transaction times. Estate agents, surveyors, conveyancers, local authorities and lenders have been working hard for many, many years to improve things – but we are not at the point where we need government to lean in. Regulators must force standardisation of best practices, embrace new technologies, and share data more effectively. Government can encourage this collaboration through a blend of incentives, policy direction, and funding where needed. Perhaps, as the telecoms sector has been expertly guided by Ofcom, it is time for an active Ofprop to take the stage.

A Call to Action for Policy Makers

For the UK to unlock the next wave of economic growth, accelerating the pace of property transactions is a strategic imperative. Government ministers and senior civil servants should consider reforms that address not just the financial costs of moving - such as Stamp Duty - but also the structural and procedural hurdles that lead to bottlenecks, increased stress, and too many aborted transactions.

Industry professionals and technology innovators are already leading the way by adopting user-friendly, secure digital solutions. Centralised data platforms, e-conveyancing, and transparent processes are already technologically viable. The push toward standardised protocols is forging a faster, leaner, and more trusted property ecosystem.

With the right governmental leadership, the UK could see a revolution in how quickly and easily people buy and sell property. Doubling the annual volume of moves - along with the associated consumer spending - would stand as a major contributor to economic growth. By focusing on slashing transaction times, we make it less stressful to move and easier for homeowners to adapt as their personal and professional circumstances evolve.

In turn, that dynamism in the housing market will ripple through the wider economy, creating jobs, driving consumer spending, and growing our economy. Which is, 2025, very much what we are all looking for.

*This article originally appeared on Estate Agent Today on 21 January 2025