A shake-up to the house-buying system which could cut a month off the time it takes – and slash around £700 from the moving bill – is on the table.

Changes could include requiring property sellers and estate agents to provide more information when a home is listed for sale, reducing the need for buyers to carry out searches and surveys.

Binding contracts could also be introduced at an earlier stage, reducing the risk of a chain collapsing and guzumping – when someone makes a higher offer for a house than someone whose offer has already been accepted by the seller.

The proposals could also deliver clearer information to consumers about estate agents and conveyancers, including their track record and expertise, along with new mandatory qualifications and a code of practice to drive up standards.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the proposals, which are the subject of a consultation, would help make “a simple dream, a simple reality”.

The government says it will set out a full roadmap in the new year after consulting on its proposals.

Mr Reed said: “Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare.

“Our reforms will fix the broken system so hardworking people can focus on the next chapter of their lives.”

Officials believe the proposed package of reforms could cut around a month off the time it takes to buy a new home and save first-time buyers an average of £710.

People selling a home could face increased costs of around £310 due to the inclusion of upfront assessments and surveys.

Those in the middle of a chain would potentially gain a net saving of £400 as a result of the increased costs from selling being outweighed by lower buying expenses.

Wider use of online processes, including digital ID, could help make transactions smoother, the government argued, pointing to the Finnish digital real estate system which can see the process completed in around two weeks.

The consultation also draws on other jurisdictions, including the Scottish system where there is more upfront information and earlier binding contracts.

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Meanwhile, the Conservatives have pledged to give young people a £5,000 national insurance rebate to help with the cost of their first home when they get their first full-time job as part of their plans to “reward work”, The Times reports.

The proposals for a “first-job bonus” – which would divert national insurance contributions into a long-term savings account – are said to be announced by shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride on Monday.

The bonus could benefit 600,000 people a year and amount to £10,000 for a working couple, with the Tories saying the £2.8bn cost would be funded by cutting government spending, according to the newspaper.

‘Process the same as for our grandparents’

The government’s planned shake-up was welcomed by property websites and lenders.

Rightmove chief executive Johan Svanstrom said: “The home-moving process involves many fragmented parts, and there’s simply too much uncertainty and costs along the way.

“Speed, connected data and stakeholder simplicity should be key goals.

“We believe it’s important to listen to agents as the experts for what practical changes will be most effective, and we look forward to working with the government on this effort to improve the buying and selling process.”

Santander’s head of homes David Morris said: “At a time when technology has changed many processes in our lives, it is incredible that the process of buying a home – an activity that is a cornerstone of our economy – remains much the same for today’s buyers as it did for their grandparents.”

Conservative shadow housing minister Paul Holmes said: “Whilst we welcome steps to digitise and speed up the process, this risks reinventing the last Labour government’s failed Home Information Packs – which reduced the number of homes put on sale, and duplicated costs across buyers and sellers.”

Donald Trump has raised the pressure ahead of today’s peace talks, urging negotiators to “move fast” as they attempt to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.

The US president posted on Truth Social: “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE OR, MASSIVE BLOODSHED WILL FOLLOW – SOMETHING THAT NOBODY WANTS TO SEE!”

Egypt has agreed to host the indirect negotiations in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Delegations are being led by Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya. US envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected to join.

Tuesday marks two years since the Hamas attack that sparked the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to announce the release of hostages being held in Gaza “in the coming days” and Hamas announced on Friday it would return all remaining hostages, dead and alive.

Speaking to Sky’s US partner network NBC, Donald Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio said Hamas had also agreed “in principle” to what happens after the war in Gaza is over, but he warned the second phase of the deal, which concerns Hamas’s disarmament and demobilisation, was “not going to be easy”.

Hamas has previously rejected calls for its disarmament.

“We’ll know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Mr Rubio added.

On Sunday, Mr Trump posted that there had been “very positive discussions with Hamas… to release the Hostages, end the War in Gaza but, more importantly, finally have long sought PEACE in the Middle East”.

Trump wants fast progress

“I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST,” he added.

The first phase deals with the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas giving up the remaining 48 hostages, of which Israel believes 20 are still alive.

Progress in the discussions will largely depend on whether the militant group agrees to Washington’s withdrawal map, a Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters.

Mr Trump released a map showing the areas of Gaza the Israeli Defence Forces would need to withdraw its troops from, which he said had been agreed to already by Israel.

Currently, the Israeli military has covered around 80% of the enclave in what it calls a “dangerous combat zone”.

If the peace plan follows the boundaries shown on the map, Israel’s initial withdrawal would leave Gaza about 55% occupied, while the second withdrawal would leave it about 40% occupied.

After the final withdrawal phase, which would create a “security buffer zone”, about 15% of Gaza would be occupied by the Israeli military.

It is this part – as well as the peace plan proposal for an international group to manage Gaza – “that is going to be a little tougher to work through,” Mr Rubio added.

Calls for ceasefire

Meanwhile, international support for an immediate ceasefire is growing.

On Friday, Mr Trump told Israel to “stop bombing Gaza”, and on Sunday Pope Leo renewed calls for a permanent ceasefire in the nearly two-year conflict.

This was followed by the foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority countries issuing a joint statement urging steps toward a possible end to fighting.

In backing Hamas’s willingness to hand over the running of Gaza to a transitional committee, the ministers called for an “immediate launch of negotiations to agree on mechanisms to implement the proposal”.

They also underlined their commitment to the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, unifying Gaza and the West Bank and reaching an agreement on security leading to a “full Israeli withdrawal” from Gaza.

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Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told journalists Mr Netanyahu is in “regular contact” with Mr Trump and that the prime minister has stressed talks in Egypt “will be confined to a few days maximum, with no tolerance for manoeuvres that will delay talks by Hamas”.

Residents and local hospitals said strikes continued across the Gaza Strip over the weekend.

At least eight people were killed on Sunday in multiple strikes in Gaza City, according to the Al Shifa hospital.

Four people were also killed in a shooting near an aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah, according to Nasser hospital.

The Israeli military said it was not involved in the shooting and did not immediately comment on the strikes.

When will hostages be freed?

A lawyer representing the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza has told Sky News now feels “as good a chance as any” to finally get the remaining captives out.

Adam Wagner said hostage families were facing “a huge mix of emotions” as they awaited the latest developments in Mr Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

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“We’ve seen hopes raised and the talks fail a number of times, but this seems as good a chance as any to get those 48 remaining hostages out,” he said.

Mr Wagner also agreed that the “big question” for the talks was whether Hamas would agree to full disarmament and complete removal from the administration of Gaza.

Israel began attacking Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians or combatants.