OPDA reacts to latest property transaction data

30 January 2026

Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), shares her thoughts on HMRC’s Property Transaction data for December:

“Property transactions remained constant in December, and I’m confident that we’ll see a steady increase in 2026 as affordability improves and more people look to move home.

“However, it's consistently acknowledged that the experience of buying and selling a home just isn't where we need it to be.

“There were more than 1.2million residential property transactions last year, according to HMRC data. But thousands of house sales fell through because of the outdated and inefficient systems we have in place.

“Data published in The Times this week shows the percentage of property sales collapsing increased last year, from 23.3 per cent in 2024 to 23.8 per cent in 2025. This compares with 21.9 per cent of deals collapsing at the height of the low-rate mortgage period before Covid in 2019.

“This is a worrying trend in the market, causing heartache and stress for sellers and costing the UK economy millions each year. We need to transform the process, based on a common, trusted foundation for data sharing.

“Digital Sales Ready listings and upfront information have the potential to transform the home buying and selling journey, creating faster, more transparent transactions with fewer delays and fall-throughs. By sharing more information upfront, it creates more certainty for all parties and reduces the risk of sales collapsing further down the line.

“The OPDA’s Property Data Trust Framework gives lenders, brokers and conveyancers a shared language and rulebook for smart property data but we need everyone in the industry driving change and adopting new ways of working to implement a system that works better for everyone.”