An encouraging development has happened on our road to e-conveyancing, with recognition of the innovation behind the technology that is making this new future possible.
PEXA (Property Exchange Australia) is the company that has pioneered the technology framework for bringing conveyancing transactions online, resulting in PEXA making BRW’s 50 Most Innovative Companies list with two awards: Best Overall Innovation and Best Business Model Innovation.
As I have mentioned before, Eckermann Steinert Conveyancers has been planning and gearing up for e-conveyancing for a while now, spurred on by the great work of our Registrar General, Brenton Pike, and his work as chair of the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC).
While I recognise that some players in our industry are scared of this development, as noted in my article, E-conveyancing: It is sending chills down the spines of some conveyancers and lawyers, the recognition of PEXA should signal just how exciting and opportunity-laden this impending change is.

Why we need e-conveyancing: A reminder

The reason South Australia (and the nation) needs e-conveyancing is that the so-called ‘mum and dad’ real estate sector in this country is worth $6 trillion and yet conveyancing of property titles is using a system more than 150 years old.
PEXA CEO Marcus Price is on record saying, ‘the residential property market is Australia’s biggest asset class and too important to be held back by current error-prone settlement practices, causing 1 in 3 consumers unnecessary stress.’
Of course, we have been able to grow because we employ state-of-the-art systems and recruit great people to make sure the transactions we handle go smoothly but it only takes weak links elsewhere in the chain to cause delays or worse.

What PEXA does that earned the awards

Just like we can now buy and sell shares online, PEXA’s arrival will bring that convenience, accuracy and cost-saving to the field of conveyancing transactions.
In essence, PEXA’s technology is able to do it’s work because banks, national and state based arms of the Institute of Conveyancers, Law Societies, land registries and four state governments to date have all come to the table to work together and agree upon standard protocols.

‘We expect that most property transactions will be online by 2019,’ PEXA CEO Marcus Price.

At Eckermann Steinert Conveyancers, we are looking forward to working with PEXA when it becomes available to South Australia and have primed our team and our systems to be ready so that you can benefit from this technology as soon as possible.