Summary
The Numbers
Don't Lie
Based on NestLink's Property Market Survey data from 1,116 buyers and sellers and 607 industry professionals we have revealed shocking insights into the industry.
A Communication Crisis
92%
of industry professionals have experienced significant delays and fall-throughs due to communication issues. This directly affects their bottom line.
Time Wasted Weekly
70%
of industry professionals spend 6+ hours per week simply chasing updates from other parties. That's min 15% of the working week... wasted.
Top Consumer Stressor
57%
of consumers cited poor communication between estate agents and solicitors as their biggest frustration and fear during the process. These are the people spending their life's savings.
Ready for Change
94%
of industry professionals have expressed readiness and interest in adopting a new digital communication platform in a hope to solve their clear pain points.
The Context
London Centric Concentration
Market Insight
London represents only 6% of UK transactions but hosts 28% of estate agencies—a significant concentration that highlights market fragmentation and skill quality across the rest of the UK.
Market Concentration Analysis
Transactions
London: 72K/year
UK: 1M/year
94%
Estate Agencies
London: 7K
UK: 25K
72%
1.38M
1.19M
1M
1.17M
1.19M
1.21M
1.17M
A Communication Crisis
UK property sales in millions (2019-2024)
Average completed transactions/year
UK Property Market Context
Over 1 million property transactions happen every year across the UK, creating a very complex web of communications between thousands of professionals.
Transactions fall through every year in the UK (265K transactions)
1 in 3
Potential transactions value lost every year due to fall throughs
£1.3B
Potential transaction stamp duty lost every year due to fall throughs (at £4620 average duty)
£12.2B
Professionals employed in the UK real estate sector
560K
Key Findings
Where Property Transactions Fail
Our research reveals systemic failures affecting everyone in the transaction chain. These are well known to the industry professionals, but have not significantly changed in several decades despite increased software solutions.
Data Insights
The Full Picture
These data analytic visualisations from the NestLink Property Survey 2026 reveal the depth of challenges and the opportunities for improvement.
Voices From The Industry
“The Current process of selling and buying is nothing short of a nightmare....”
Home Seller
Midlands
"The length of time taken by third parties to progress their side of the transaction is our biggest challenge."
Conveyancing Solicitor
South East
"No standard timelines—everything just 'takes as long as it takes.'"
Mortgage Broker
South East
"Hard to keep track of the emails flying around and what we needed to chase."
Home Buyer
London
"We need a more joined-up and coherent communication system so we can clearly see what needs to be actioned."
Home Buyer
London
Methodology
Research You Can Trust
Comprehensive dual-survey study capturing insights from both sides of the property transaction ecosystem.
Survey Scope
Summary of our survey and numbers of responses
1,116
607
4
All
Consumer respondents as property buyers or sellers
Industry professionals
Transaction types for buyers and sellers
UK areas covered from London to Scotland
Professional Breakdown
Professional backgrounds from our respondents were tracked to ensure we obtained a representative data set
31%
29%
25%
15%
"The property industry stands at an inflexion point. The lack of a unified, end-to-end digital solution means information gets lost, consumers feel left in the dark, and deals fall through due to preventable miscommunication."
NestLink Property Survey Report 2026
The Solution
NestLink OS
Building the Operating System for Property
NestLink is creating a fully unified digital platform bringing all stakeholders together to streamline property transactions. One platform. Complete transparency. Zero miscommunication.
Real-time transaction progress updates
Automatic client updates & notifications
Immutable and shared audit trail for compliance
Secure document sharing across all parties
Shared timelines for all stakeholders
Improved client satisfaction and time saved for all
