Trust is not a given in property. It is earned, and according to new research we recently conducted among homebuyers, much of the industry still has a long way to go.
Our 2026 homebuyer insights report surveyed over 1,000 homebuyers on their attitudes toward the homebuying process, digital identity, data sharing, and compliance. The findings are a wake-up call for estate agents: just 35% of respondents say they trust estate agents to keep their personal data secure and use it responsibly. Compare that to banks and building societies, trusted by 77% of the same group, and the scale of the challenge for estate agents becomes clear.
It’s not a small gap, but also it is somewhat to be expected. Estate Agents have always been a very ‘hands on’ industry; dealing with things manually and often in person; however, the digital landscape has now changed the way we do everything, including going through the homebuying process. Buyers and sellers alike want to do things remotely, with a digitally led process, but with this comes its own risks.
As we’ve got more advanced, so have fraudsters, and cases of stolen identity reached a record 444,993 in 2025 according to the National Fraud Database, which was up 6% on 2024. Buyers and sellers want to ensure their data is protected now more than ever before.
In a market where buyers have more choice, more information, and more awareness of data risk than ever before, it is one the industry cannot afford to ignore.
Why the trust gap exists
Many homebuyers today are millennials or younger, having grown up alongside the internet and the rapid evolution of digital services. They understand what good data handling looks like because they experience it regularly, through their banking apps, digital wallets, and online services.
Banks have spent years building trust through clear regulation, consistent standards, and a visible commitment to data security. Customers are now used to onboarding digitally, and knowing they have to pass robust identity checks. Once verified, their credentials carry through seamlessly, and this has become the norm.
The property transaction experience, for many buyers, feels like the opposite.
The frustration underneath
Our research shows that 25% of homebuyers view providing identity documents as one of the most frustrating parts of buying a home. Nearly four in ten (39%) cite proof of funds as the single most painful task. These are not abstract complaints; they reflect a process that routinely asks buyers to repeat the same steps, provide the same documents, and trust the same information to multiple parties, often using methods that carry real risk.
Despite growing awareness of data security, email and in-person document sharing remain the most common ways buyers provide identity information, used by 62% and 63% of respondents respectively. Nearly four in ten still share documents by post. These are the very methods that estate agents, mortgage brokers, and conveyancers have traditionally relied upon, yet they stand in stark contrast to the secure, regulated digital environments buyers are used to elsewhere.
When a buyer hands over a passport scan via email, they lose all visibility over where that document goes, who can access it, and how long it is retained. That is not reassurance. That is risk, and buyers know it.
What drives trust, and how to get it
The good news is that the research also tells us exactly what builds confidence. Regulation is the strongest trust driver, cited by 81% of respondents. Adherence to recognised standards, such as ISO certification, follows at 57%.
For estate agents, this is actionable. Working with regulated, certified identity service providers sends a clear signal to buyers that their data is being handled to a professional standard. It is not just about compliance for its own sake; it is about communicating that commitment visibly and consistently.
Transparency matters too. Our research shows that 86% of homebuyers say it is important or very important to have control over when and how their data is shared. Buyers want to know who is requesting their information, why it is needed, and how long it will be used. Agents who can speak to that clearly, and who use systems that support it, will stand apart.
The cost of getting it wrong
Non-compliance is no longer just a regulatory risk; it is a commercial one. Nearly seven in ten respondents (69%) say they would stop working with a company found to be in breach of compliance regulations. In a sector built on referrals and reputation, that figure should be front of mind for every agency principal.
Compliance failures do not need to be headline-grabbing to cause damage. Repeated document requests, unclear consent processes, and insecure sharing methods all chip away at buyer confidence. The experience of being asked to email a passport for the third time to a different party does not inspire trust. It reinforces the sense that the industry is behind the times.
A way forward
The property sector is at a turning point. Digital identity verification has matured significantly, and the tools now available to estate agents go far beyond requesting a scanned passport via email.
Modern IDV solutions use NFC technology to read the chip embedded in a buyer’s passport or driving licence directly, extracting cryptographically secured data that cannot be forged or tampered with. Combined with biometric checks and liveness detection, this approach verifies identity to a standard that manual or email-based methods simply cannot match. The data is captured securely, stored in encrypted environments, and access is controlled throughout. Buyers are not handing a document into a void; they are completing a verified, auditable process.
This is the standard buyers are beginning to expect, because it is not far removed from what they already experience when opening a bank account or applying for a financial product digitally.
For agents, the changes needed are straightforward in principle: treat data handling as a signal of professionalism, not a regulatory obligation to be managed at minimum effort. Use regulated, standards-led technology. Be transparent about how buyer information is collected, stored, and used. Give clients a genuine sense of control over their own data.
Trust, once earned, is a powerful differentiator. The agents who understand that will be the ones best placed for what comes next.
Download the full Credas Homebuyer Insights 2026 report to see all the data behind these findings.
