19 August, 2024
Episode 22 – Digitising Property Sales (with Maria Harris of the Open Property Data Association)
Ruban Selvanayagam of fast home sales specialists Property Solvers speaks with Maria Harris of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) about progress being made in digitising the UK home buying and selling process
Maria outlines her background, including her experience in creating the UK’s first digital mortgage with Atom Bank. The conversation delves into the slow progress in digitising property transactions despite government efforts, with the average time to complete a house purchase increasing from 12 weeks in 2005 to 22 weeks in 2024.
The discussion highlights the fragmented nature of the current system, where different stakeholders operate in silos and rely on outdated, paper-based processes. Maria goes on to explain how the OPDA is focused on creating “open data” standards and a common infrastructure (namely the Property Data Trust Framework) to enable seamless data sharing across the property industry.
She notes the involvement of major lenders like Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide, who are beginning to adopt these standards. The government’s role – particularly through the Smart Data roadmap and the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill – is also discussed as crucial in supporting these efforts to make the property transaction process more transparent, efficient and consumer-friendly.
Links (Resources) Referred to in the Podcast
Open Property Data Association (OPDA)
Follow Open Property Data Association on LinkedIn
Follow Maria Harris on LinkedIn
