NatWest Group has joined the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) to support the digital transformation of the homebuying process by improving the sharing of property data across the mortgage market.
This collaboration is part of a broader push to modernise the property market, where the average homebuying journey currently takes around 22 weeks, with less than one per cent of property information available digitally.
The OPDA, which launched last summer, focuses on advancing digital property data standards. It aims to streamline the exchange of property information, making the process faster and more transparent for all stakeholders.
NatWest’s decision to join comes on the heels of other major lenders, including HSBC, Nationwide and Lloyds Banking Group, who have all recently joined OPDA as well. Smaller members, such as Atom bank, PEXA and Coadjute, are also involved, signalling growing industry support.
“To have NatWest Group join us so soon after other large mortgage lenders is a key moment, not just for us at OPDA, but also for the homebuying sector,” said Maria Harris, chair of OPDA. “NatWest’s support reinforces how absolutely vital open data standards are in digitising property transactions and the commitment from industry to make this happen.
“Together, NatWest and our other lending members’ ability to reduce the industry’s attachment to forms-based thinking and siloed approaches will have a fundamental impact on improving the poor customer experience of the homebuying process.”
Digitising property data
OPDA has been advocating for the government to introduce digitised property data at its source, covering everything from Land Registry data to local authority searches. Recent developments, such as the King’s Speech, have suggested that the government may be moving in this direction, with proposals like the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill indicating potential reforms to the homebuying process through digital services.
Since its inception, OPDA has developed free, open-source data standards and tools to enable the sharing of trustable and accessible property information. The use of digital property packs, developed with these standards, has shown encouraging results, with some transactions reducing the time between mortgage offers and contract exchanges to just 15 days.
Brad Fordham, head of mortgage distribution at NatWest, also added: “Speeding up the homebuying journey and making it a simpler, clearer and more customer-focused process is core to what we’re trying to achieve as a bank.
“Joining OPDA is an important signal of our commitment to driving up standards of transparency and collaboration across all parts of the homebuying journey and we look forward to seeing that continue to improve.”
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