New research has revealed the UK areas where conveyancers are under the most pressure.
The return of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to pre-pandemic rates on 1st October 2021 did little to put buyers off. Between then and 31st March this year, £679 million of it was paid by new homeowners. Almost two-thirds of this was in London.
By comparing the number of property sales during this six-month period with the number of properties each location across the UK’s 100 largest towns and cities, the data from Access Legal revealed that Norwich had one property transaction for every 52 available, followed closely by Nottingham (52.1) and then Lincoln with 56.2. The ten busiest locations were as follows:
| Location | Number of properties sold (October 2021 – March 2022) | Total number of properties in location | Number of properties in location per sale between October 2021 and March 2022 |
| Norwich | 1,308 | 68,000 | 52.0 |
| Nottingham | 2,733 | 142,510 | 52.1 |
| Lincoln | 828 | 46,500 | 56.2 |
| Bristol | 3,336 | 204,930 | 61.4 |
| Preston | 1,055 | 65,160 | 61.8 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 1,743 | 118,200 | 67.8 |
| Reading | 1,000 | 74,120 | 74.1 |
| Manchester | 3,202 | 238,800 | 74.6 |
| Newcastle | 1,777 | 135,870 | 76.5 |
| Blackpool | 935 | 72,000 | 77.0 |
The research also found that property buyers in London paid more than £440 million in Stamp Duty during this six month period, with an estimated £679 million generated for the treasury by the 100 locations featured in this research.
The ten towns and cities that generated the most in SDLT were:
| Location | Average property price | Number of properties sold (October 2021 – March 2022) | Average SDLT paid (50/50 split between FTBs and existing owners) | Total SDLT paid by residents
(October 2021 – March 2022) |
| London | £722,668.00 | 16928 | £26,133 | £442,379,424 |
| Bristol | £364,656.00 | 3336 | £5,732 | £19,121,952 |
| Reading | £445,967.00 | 1000 | £9,798 | £9,798,000 |
| Cambridge | £491,204.00 | 638 | £12,060 | £7,694,280 |
| St Albans | £624,273.00 | 362 | £21,213 | £7,679,106 |
| Oxford | £579,526.00 | 378 | £18,976 | £7,172,928 |
| Woking | £559,138.00 | 389 | £17,956 | £6,984,884 |
| Brighton | £452,577.00 | 637 | £10,128 | £6,451,536 |
| Slough | £445,073.00 | 601 | £9,753 | £5,861,553 |
| Bath | £539,833.00 | 319 | £16,991 | £5,420,129 |
Commenting on the findings, Mike Connelly, director of conveyancing software provider Legal Bricks, said:
“This research suggests that even with the SDLT holiday ending last year, demand for housing in some parts of the UK remains high.
Many solicitors are still dealing with high volumes of conveyancing work and without the proper tools in place, they’ll end up working long hours, risking burnout and poor client service.
Those who’re using good conveyancing and case management software software, on the other hand, are able to work more efficiently and not just improve the profitability of every case but drive up client satisfaction too.”
For the full research, visit: https://www.theaccessgroup.com/en-gb/legal/resources/big-movers-the-uk-locations-paying-the-most-on-stamp-duty-since-its-return/
This article was submitted to be published by Access Legal as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
