Digital Bricks and Mortar

‘Moving home in the UK is a slow, opaque and admin-heavy process for both buyers and property professionals, and the property market is clearly overdue the kind of technology revolution we’ve seen in other industries. But for those of us who aren’t technologists, it’s hard to know what that will look like or what it will mean. Reynolds’s brilliant book sets out a clear blueprint for the future of the property market, and it’s refreshingly easy to read too. I believe it will be a hugely influential book, and it is a must-read for anyone in our industry who wants to know what the future will look like.’ — Phil Spencer, property expert and TV personality

‘It’s very frustrating that nearly a quarter of a century after Rightmove started the UK’s property search revolution, the dream – and indeed the expectation – of the digitization of the rest of the UK’s home buying and selling process has yet to become a reality. Reynolds’s insight and clarity in setting out the intricate web of complex challenges in this area are very well timed to inspire, embolden and enable the necessary stakeholders to come together to finally make that digitization happen. The book is filled with truly inspirational content and vision from someone with an unrivalled breadth of experience in the vital component fields that need to come together, collaborate and act. Reynolds is also disarmingly modest in inviting and promoting constructive discourse. He astutely recognizes that this is a vital component if we are to shift from the tantalizing cusp of a seamless solution to a speedier and better implementation: something that will be of massive benefit to both the industry and millions of future movers.’ — Miles Shipside, Co-founder, Rightmove

‘The property market in the UK can work well if everyone has the information they need when they need it, and if buyers and sellers pay a fair price for high-quality home moving experts. However, in any one year, transaction levels can fluctuate from 900,000 to 1.5 million, putting huge pressure on the industry as experts take years to train. To provide a transparent twenty-first-century buying and selling process, we must deliver huge amounts of trusted information along with payment systems that work efficiently for everyone: buyer, seller, lender, all the way through to the removal company. Reynolds explains in detail the steps needed to achieve this, including a fascinating history of how the system works now and why it is like it is. He also explains changes such as smart data and AI that will dramatically impact on the property industry, and he shows readers how, through collaboration, change can make a positive difference for all. This is an essential read for those that want to take the necessary steps to deliver the very best service to buyers and sellers in the future.’ — Kate Faulkner OBE, leading property expert and commentator