PEXA recently participated in the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) Hackathon, a collaborative initiative delivered through the Smart Property Data Trust Framework Sandbox project. The hackathon brought together organisations from across the property sector to explore how trusted property data can be shared securely between authorised participants using common standards and governance frameworks.
Why completion day still creates uncertainty
For most home movers, completion day is the most stressful part of the entire property transaction.
Buyers wait for the call that confirms they can collect the keys. Sellers need certainty that their onward move can proceed. Estate agents spend the day coordinating key releases. Conveyancers spend significant time coordinating updates and trying to establish whether funds have arrived and completion has actually taken place. Lenders have no visibility of when their funds have been utilised and the transaction has successfully completed.
Despite being one of the most important moments in the home buying journey, completion is still frequently communicated through a combination of phone calls, emails and manual updates. As part of the OPDA Hackathon, PEXA demonstrated how that could change. Rather than multiple parties separately chasing and confirming the same information, participants could receive a trusted notification from the source of the transaction event itself.
Creating certainty on completion day
Completion day remains one of the most fragmented moments in the property transaction process.
Conveyancers know the reality all too well. While parties across the chain wait for confirmation that completion has taken place, buyers may be sitting in removal vans or waiting for access to their new home while their possessions remain outside. Much of the day can be spent coordinating updates and confirming information between multiple parties.
Working alongside organisations from across the property sector, PEXA developed and demonstrated a proof of concept showing how trusted completion notifications and Land Registry Title Information Documents (TIDs) could be shared securely and in real time between authorised participants.
The hackathon explored how a trusted completion event could be communicated instantly to authorised participants, creating a single source of truth for one of the most important milestones in the home moving journey. In simple terms, this means that when completion happens, everyone who needs to know can know immediately.
The result is greater certainty, less duplication, reduced manual chasing and a better experience for everyone involved.
Building trust into transaction data
The demonstration showed how important transaction and property updates can be shared in a way that allows recipients to verify both the source and integrity of the information they receive. It also positioned PEXA as a trusted source of transaction data, capable of sharing verified completion events and title information updates through a secure, standards-based framework.
This all aligns to a key objective of the wider Smart Property Data Trust Framework initiative, which is to explore how trusted, reusable property data can move securely between authorised organisations while maintaining confidence in its origin and accuracy.
The wider sandbox programme is already helping to demonstrate how trusted data sharing could improve visibility, certainty and efficiency across the property transaction process.
Looking ahead
The hackathon was designed as a proof of concept rather than a production implementation. However, it demonstrated the potential for trusted real-time transaction updates to improve certainty across the home moving process.
For PEXA, the exercise highlighted how transaction platforms can play an important role in providing trusted completion and registration data within a more interoperable property market.
As the industry continues to explore trust frameworks, open standards and interoperable data sharing, initiatives such as the Smart Property Data Trust Framework Sandbox are helping to demonstrate what a more connected, transparent and efficient future could look like. The ability to provide trusted completion notifications may prove to be one of the most tangible benefits for consumers, conveyancers, estate agents and lenders alike.
Ultimately, the goal is simple: when completion happens, everyone who needs to know should know.
See digital completion in practice
While the Hackathon explored what a more connected property market could look like, firms are already experiencing the benefits of digital completions today. Read how Guest Walker completed its first transaction through PEXA and what they learned from the experience.