Ninety-five per cent of estate agents support the Government’s proposed reforms to the homebuying process, according to a new survey by GetAgent. The figure is striking not just for its size but for what it reveals: an industry that has long accepted fall-throughs, delays and buyer uncertainty as facts of life is now ready to leave them behind.
The reforms, announced last month, promise to cut buying times by four weeks and save first-time buyers an average of £650. New sales packs, earlier binding agreements and digital tools would halve the number of sales that collapse before completion. A code of practice for estate agents is expected before the end of this year, with mandatory qualifications to follow.
The most significant proposal, and the one generating the strongest support, is the introduction of binding agreements earlier in the transaction process. Ninety-three per cent of agents surveyed said these would improve market stability.
Under the current system, either party can walk away from a sale at almost any point before exchange of contracts. That freedom comes at a cost. Chains collapse. Buyers lose survey fees and legal costs. Sellers return to the market weeks or months later, often at a lower price. The emotional toll doesn’t appear in the statistics, but anyone who has lost a sale three days before exchange knows it well.
Binding agreements wouldn’t eliminate withdrawals entirely, but they would create consequences for pulling out without good reason. The Government believes this single change could prevent thousands of failed transactions each year.
Three quarters of agents, 76%, said that requiring more information upfront would reduce the number of failed sales. The logic is simple: problems discovered late in a transaction are the ones most likely to kill it.
Title issues, lease complications, planning restrictions, drainage problems. These aren’t rare. They’re routine. And they routinely surface weeks into a process that has already consumed time, money and goodwill on both sides.
Sales packs assembled at the point of listing would bring these issues to the surface before a buyer commits. It’s an approach that has worked in Scotland for years, where the system already requires a Home Report before marketing begins.
Colby Short, co-founder and chief executive of GetAgent, said the survey results reflected a deeper frustration within the profession. “For years, the industry has accepted that fall-throughs, long transaction times and uncertainty are simply part of moving home, but they don’t have to be.”
He highlighted how much of an agent’s working week is consumed by problems that sit outside their control. “Chasing paperwork, dealing with buyers who aren’t fully prepared, and trying to keep chains together all takes time away from helping clients move successfully.”
The numbers support his point. Eighty-three per cent of agents believe the reforms will boost buyer demand, and 92% think they’ll improve the industry’s reputation. These aren’t just operational improvements. Agents see them as a chance to redefine what their job actually involves: less firefighting, more advising.
In markets like Norwich and the North Norfolk coast, where chains can stretch to five or six properties, the risk of collapse multiplies with every link. A buyer in Burnham Market waiting on a sale in Wymondham that depends on a purchase in Attleborough knows exactly how fragile the process can feel.
Binding agreements would give every party in that chain greater confidence that the sale ahead of them won’t evaporate. For sellers of higher-value properties in particular, where each week on the market carries meaningful holding costs, the financial case for reform is obvious.
The proposal for mandatory agent qualifications has generated less debate than binding agreements, perhaps because most serious professionals already hold them voluntarily. But the gap between qualified and unqualified practice is real, and it’s buyers and sellers who pay the price when an inexperienced agent misjudges a situation.
A code of practice followed by formal qualification requirements would bring estate agency in line with other professions involved in property transactions. Conveyancers, surveyors and mortgage advisers all require credentials. The argument for agents to remain exempt has grown thinner with each passing year.
The Government has committed to issuing a code of practice before the end of 2026, but the full package of reforms will take longer to implement. Legislation on binding agreements, in particular, requires parliamentary time and careful drafting to avoid unintended consequences.
For now, the takeaway is that the direction of travel is set. The property industry isn’t being dragged towards reform. It’s asking for it. When 95% of the people who manage transactions every day say the current system needs fixing, the case for change isn’t theoretical. It’s professional consensus.
Buyers and sellers across Norfolk and Suffolk can explore detailed market conditions in their area through The Ivybridge Collection’s property market reports, covering 324 locations with regularly updated pricing and demand data.
