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House sales delayed by slow info chain
27/06/08
Thousands of
homebuyers are waiting up to 120% longer than a year ago - as much
as 24 days more - for essential information relating to the purchase
of their property, research reveals today.
Continued inefficiency and anti-competitive behaviour at some local
councils means that the length of time you wait for vital property
search documents relates directly to your postcode, according to
leading property data company OneSearch Direct, which compiled the
local authority research.
This could be a serious and costly issue if you’re buying a home in
the West London Borough of Hillingdon. The worst offending local
authority, Hillingdon takes an average of 44 days to return search
data – a huge increase on last year’s average of 20 days for
homebuyers to receive important information from this council.
OneSearch Direct’s findings have been mirrored by other leading
industry experts. Ted Beardsall’s Local Property Searches and
Leasehold Information report, published this month, detailed how
some councils were being unnecessarily restrictive, and in some
instances even deliberately obstructive, towards private search
companies.
Just one example of this would be Copeland Borough Council which,
despite allowing an unrestricted number of searches, will only allow
them to be completed between 10am and 12pm on Fridays.
Given that the most pressing concern for nearly half of all
homebuyers is the length of the home buying process[1], this is
clearly cause for concern – especially since there is real need for
stimulation in the current property market.
However, some local authorities are doing their bit to keep deal
flow going and are leading the way in the postcode lottery. Crawley
Borough Council tops the efficiency league with an average of just
2.25 days to return search data.
Ronnie Park, Managing Director at OneSearch Direct, comments: “It’s
ludicrous that there continues to be vast differences in the
efficiency and competency of local authorities across the country.
With the market slowing down, it’s more crucial than ever that we
ensure best practice regardless of postcode – or there could be
serious timing, cost and liability implications for consumers.”
Average time for a completed search (as at 20 June 2008)
Five fastest councils (days taken)
Crawley Borough Council 2.25(5th)
Christchurch Borough Council 2.33(NEW)
South Staffordshire District Council 2.33(NEW)
Oldham M. Borough Council 2.38(NEW)
Peterborough City Council 2.42(NEW)
Five slowest councils (days taken)
London Borough of Hillingdon 44.28(Bottom)
Halton Borough Council 31.50(NEW)
Welwyn Hatfield Council 29.69(NEW)
West Lindsey District Council 27.00(NEW)
Hastings Borough Council 20.62(NEW)
The majority of the worst offenders remain in the South East of
England, where the housing market is most competitive and speed is
of the essence, despite warnings from OneSearch last year of the
region’s shortfalls in this area. Over half of local authorities
taking 10 days or more to return key information are located in
London and the South East, including three of the five slowest on
the league table of 350 councils.
The postcode lottery applies not only to turnaround times, but to
price too. Most local authorities charge a standard, reasonable £6
fee for the search. However, some such as Eastleigh Borough Council
in Hampshire charge up to £48 for the same information.
Ted Beardsall’s report confirmed that that there was “no doubt that
the highest priced local authority searches are subsidising other
council services”, which contravenes the “no cross-subsidisation of
service” rule that the public sector should abide by. In addition,
the Carsberg Review, published last week, warned that there is “a
strong need for legislation to introduce specific controls” over
councils’ practices in relation to searches.
Ronnie Park adds: “Buyers should also be concerned about the quality
of information in their search. We’re aware of instances where
buyers have inherited expensive renovation grants, which, had they
been spotted, would have empowered the prospective buyer to
negotiate on price.
“We go to considerable lengths to ensure the quality of information
we collect and store in our database and also have teams on the
ground consistently sourcing information for prospective buyers. But
more effective co-operation between public data holders and private
sector search suppliers is essential to empower consumers to make
quicker, smoother purchases. It’s time for reform.”
Nick Gibson, editor
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