The process of buying a home is taking over three times longer than buyers would expect, a new survey from the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) has revealed.

According to the association’s research, which quizzed over 5,000 people across the UK who had bought or sold a property in the past five years, the majority (57%) thought that the homebuying process would take less than two months from when the offer was accepted to exchanging contracts.

In reality, 46% discovered that it took between three and six months while for a further 16%, their completion took more than six months.

Despite most respondents not being first-time buyers and having some previous experience of the process, 62% of people still took well over three months to exchange.

OPDA’s survey was part of new research into how homebuying can be radically improved through access to safe and shareable digital data.

Chair of OPDA, Maria Harris, said: “Our large-scale survey regrettably but predictably confirms what we have long asserted, that homebuying is not the customer centric experience it should be.

“The current process delivers an appallingly slow, unpredictable, and disappointing experience for the majority of home buyers and sellers. Buying a home, especially your first, should be a cause for celebration.

“Instead, it too frequently leaves buyers open to heartbreak and unfulfilled expectations and is not fit for purpose. Clearly, customers expect a better homebuying experience and reform is urgently needed to achieve this.”

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