House price bounce weighed down by costs and ‘unyeilding’ mortgage rates
Nationwide has published its house price index for March, with the building society’s Chief Economist saying the property market has remained ‘relatively subdued’ by historic standards. House prices have bounced back after a 0.2% drop last month, totalling a 1.6% rise in the last year – making the new average property price £261,142. All regions […]
Prime London buying stalls in the first quarter
Demand for prime London homes valued at above £2M had declined in the first financial quarter, according to the latest analysis. Super prime property, valued at above £10M, has also seen a drop in demand – with just a handful of locations seeing an increase in buyer appetites. Benham and Reeves have revealed from their […]
Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest and Rightmove join forces with Coadjute
Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest, and Rightmove have announced an investment in Coadjute. This is the first time that the UK’s three largest mortgage providers have come together to fund a PropTech. Lloyds Banking Group, as lead investment partner, has invested £3 million as part of a £10 million funding round to support Coadjute’s long-term […]
February sees surge in mortgage approvals – BofE
Mortgage approvals for February soared to 60,383, marking a significant rise from January’s figure of 56,087, according to the Bank of England. This represents a robust month-over-month increase of 7.7% and a 39.8% surge year-over-year compared to February 2023, which recorded 43,207 approvals. This places mortgage approvals at their highest level since September 2022, when […]
Conveyancing protocol forms updated
The latest iteration of the Buyer’s and Seller’s Property Information (BASPI) schema has been launched with amendments to both Part A (the disclosure of material facts) and Part B (additional information required for the legal process). The release comes in the same week as updated TA6 forms were released by The Law Society. BASPI has […]
Property transactions 3% lower compared with the same period last year, data reveals
New data from HM Revenue & Customs has revealed the number of UK residential property transactions in February 2024 was 3% lower than the same month in 2023. The provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in February 2024 is 73,360, 3% lower than February 2023 and 9% higher than January […]
Levelling Up Committee launches inquiry on Improving the home buying and selling process
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee has today launched an inquiry on improving the home buying and selling process in England. The cross-party inquiry will examine the transaction process, the information available to buyers, and the role of conveyancers and estate agents. Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, […]
‘Embrace AI or risk being replaced’
Those in the legal sector need to ’embrace AI or risk being replaced’ as the use of AI tools in the workplace rises. The warning comes from Paul Sams, Head of Property at Dutton Gregory Solicitors, who says law firms that aren’t using it, are ‘missing a trick’. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for […]
Leasehold reforms dubbed the ‘next scandal’ facing the housing market’
Yesterday, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords and comes as ministers are being squeezed to alter the legislation, including the cessation of “fleecehold estates”, which have been called “the next great scandal” facing the market. A total of 46 MPs have written to the Government in […]
Conveyancing costs rise in Q1 2024 but remain ‘well below peak’
The cost of conveyancing rose by 5.1% in the first quarter of this year, compared to Q4 2023, according to analysis of approximately 82,000 conveyancing quote forms on home mover comparison site reallymoving. Published quarterly, the new Conveyancing Costs Index aims to keep the industry informed of average prices being paid for legal services by […]
How open data standards empower conveyancers to shape future of property transactions
In the dynamic realm of property transactions, conveyancers lead the way on seamless transitions, guiding clients through the intricate process of buying or selling. As technology continues to reshape industries worldwide, conveyancers are now on the cusp of embracing a new frontier: open data standards. At first glance, the notion of standardised property data may […]
If upfront information isn’t the answer, what are you doing to solve the archaic conveyancing process?
The introduction of Material Information Parts B and C towards the back end of last year has thrust conveyancing into the spotlight, giving us as professionals a new standard to uphold. But as the sector digests the implications, it is apparent that there are mixed views as to whether or not it will benefit the […]
An American Adventure
Chief Revenue Officer at Cashroom Alex Holt joins Today’s Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie to discuss his Cashroom and the development of the business over the last 10 years. Cashroom offer outsourced finance functions for law firms across the UK; and has grown as a number of factors have come together to place pressure on […]
