It will advocate for consumer awareness and industry engagement regarding digital property data
Nationwide Building Society has joined the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) to support efforts to speed up the homebuying process by sharing digital property information across the housing market.
The move aims to help digitise the homebuying process, enabling a safer, more transparent experience for its customers and employees.
Currently, less than 1% of property information is available digitally, often resulting in the same information being requested multiple times by different parties such as lenders, estate agents, and solicitors.
Digitising all property data sources and documents will streamline the process, reduce turnaround times, and improve efficiency by maintaining a single version of data. This will also help reduce fraud and prevent transactions from falling through, benefiting consumers significantly.
📣📣Breaking news alert📣📣
— Open Property Data Association (@OpenPropData) July 23, 2024
Over the moon to announce @AskNationwide as the latest high street lender to join us on our mission to digitise the homebuying and mortgage process 🎉🎉🎉#digital #property #mortgages #collaborationhttps://t.co/furX64YK35
Founded last June, OPDA’s mission is to provide every company in the mortgage and property chain access to the same property information in a digital, standardised, and trusted format. This year, it delivered its framework for property data standards, making free and shareable data tools available across the property industry.
OPDA has urged the government to digitise the entire homebuying and selling process within three years. Its chair, Maria Harris (pictured left), provided evidence to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee’s ‘Improving the homebuying and selling process’ inquiry in May. It is also collaborating with the government through the Digital Property Market Steering Group and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to encourage the adoption of open data standards.
Nationwide, one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, will advocate for consumer awareness and industry engagement regarding digital property data. It plans to implement OPDA’s framework within its solutions and promote its adoption among industry and technology partners.
“At Nationwide, we are committed to improving the house buying and homeownership journey,” said Henry Jordan (pictured right), director of home at Nationwide Building Society. “Joining OPDA is a major part of this commitment as standardisation of data is vital for improvements. We bring our mortgage experience and customer insights to ensure data is shareable, creating a safer, more trusted experience for customers.”
Harris said Nationwide’s membership marks a significant milestone for their mission to transform the homebuying process.
“Having a respected brand like Nationwide as a member will boost the message about the importance of open data standards in digitising property transactions,” she added.
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