Speed up house-buying - breakthrough by Nationwide and Rightmove

A landmark digital tool hailed as a “global first” promises to take some of the stress – and guesswork – out of buying a home.

Rightmove, the UK’s biggest property portal, has joined forces with Nationwide, the country’s largest building society, to launch a real-time digital check that tells buyers whether a specific home is likely to be eligible for a mortgage before they even set foot through the door.

The tool – called the ‘property lending check’ – flags up potential red flags like flood risks or short leaseholds which might make a property unsuitable for lending. It gives would-be buyers clarity earlier in the process, before offers are made, and long before delays or complications can derail a deal.

Previously, buyers could apply for a Mortgage in Principle to get a rough idea of what they could borrow. But that offered no guarantee the property they had their eye on would pass a lender’s scrutiny.

Rightmove says it wants to drag the often snail-paced property market into the digital age. Currently, it still takes more than five months on average to complete a home sale – a figure that has barely budged in years.

“This is the next step in our mission to digitise more of the UK property market – the ability to give home-movers a real-time view of whether they are likely to be able to get a mortgage on a specific property,” said Matt Smith, Rightmove’s Head of Mortgages.

“Our ambition is to build digital solutions that make the home-buying process more efficient, giving buyers a better understanding of their affordability much earlier. This is a first rollout phase, and we’ll be making lots of enhancements to the property lending check over the coming months.”

The feature builds on Rightmove’s Mortgage in Principle tool, also powered by Nationwide, which has seen record use this year as house-hunters try to gauge what they can afford before even calling an estate agent.

The move is also designed to help estate agents weed out time-wasters and focus on buyers who are ready to proceed, potentially reducing the number of sales that collapse before completion – a persistent problem in the UK housing market.

Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Director of Home, said: “We know that the homebuying process needs simplifying and streamlining and technology plays a crucial role in that. By working closely with Rightmove, we’ve already been able to introduce the successful Mortgage in Principle tool.

“However, we know that people who find a property listing they like are keen to know whether they’ll be able to get a mortgage on it. So, the launch of the property lending check feature is the natural next step.”

The feature will initially be available on select listings as part of a phased rollout. If successful, it could be a significant step towards a long-overdue digital overhaul of Britain’s home-buying system.