Conveyancers register fewest transactions since 2013

Stagnant housing supply and restricted home-moving activity pushed total conveyancing levels down 14% to 210,964 from 245,738 in Q1 2017, the fewest cases in a single quarter since mid-2013.

The report also found that fewer conveyancing businesses are active in the market now compared to four years ago.

The latest Conveyancing Market Tracker from conveyancing search provider, Search Acumen shows that the slowdown has nevertheless put firms back to the average monthly business volumes they last experienced three years ago.

Throughout Q2 2017, the average monthly caseload per firm dropped by 13% from 59 in Q1 to 51 cases in Q2 – the lowest quarterly figure since Q2 2014.

Using Land Registry data, the tracker revealed that the average number of firms active in the three months to June dropped 1% from 4,198 in Q1 to 4,143 in Q2 – the lowest figure on record since tracking began in 2011.

“The dip in conveyancing activity should come as no surprise to those closely watching the UK property market, but it poses a significant challenge for conveyancing firms that want to survive and grow,” said Andrew Lloyd, managing director at Search Acumen (pictured above).

“We see from our latest statistics on productivity that the conveyancing industry is an increasingly well-oiled machine, but it can only process the transactions the market feeds it.

“The fact that second-steppers are now finding life hard suggests there is still much to do to effectively balance the UK housing market – not least addressing the shortage of homes to go round.

 “Meanwhile, with fewer customers to play for, competitive pressures are heightening and conveyancing firms face more of a challenge to attract new business.”