The Government's Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap aims to make residential transactions faster, more transparent and less prone to falling through. Proposals include mandatory sales packs, property condition reports, digital property logbooks and greater levels of upfront information before properties are marketed.
While much of the discussion has focused on conveyancing and transaction times, there are important implications for the valuation profession too.
For Valuers, increased access to reliable property information at the outset should lead to:
- More robust valuation evidence;
- Reduced reliance on assumptions and special assumptions;
- Earlier identification of title, tenure and condition issues;
- Greater confidence in comparable sales data.
However, technology and data can only take us so far. When instructing a Valuer, local knowledge remains critical. A local Valuer is often better placed to:
- Understand micro-market variations between neighbouring streets and neighbourhoods;
- Interpret local planning policy and development trends;
- Assess factors that may not be apparent from datasets alone, such as buyer demand, school catchments, transport improvements and local market sentiment;
- Provide context to comparable evidence rather than simply report it.
As the property industry embraces greater digitalisation, the value of professional judgement becomes even more important. The best valuation advice will continue to combine high-quality data with local market expertise.
The reforms may improve the information available to Valuers, but they will not replace the insight that comes from having boots on the ground and a deep understanding of the local market.