Fewer than half (45%) of the property professionals who took part in the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) latest confidence tracker survey said they were confident in current market stability, down from 54% last year. Over a third of respondents (36%) also admitted they had been holding off investing in new technologies or redesigning processes ahead of the output of the government’s home buying and selling reform consultations.
The feedback suggests the announcement of reforms to the property market have come at just the right time, the CLC said. The regulator is now urging its members to throw their support behind the changes.
The CLC supports the government’s view that the reforms will be transformative, reducing delays and the “unacceptably high” level of transactions falling through, which it notes will be achieved by the introduction of legally binding agreements, supported by sales packs containing all the information prospective buyers may need upfront. “Buyers and sellers can therefore make informed decisions and have confidence much earlier in the process that the transaction will complete”, said the CLC.
Stephen Ward, head of strategy and external relations at the CLC, said: “The CLC has a long history of championing innovation and modernisation, and we will be working hard to ensure these reforms take hold.
“This is a significant and exciting step forward in improving the whole process, not just for consumers but also everyone involved in home buying and selling, so we urge the property market to continue its collaboration to make this vision a reality.”
Just 17% of the 87 respondents to the survey said they thought the speed and efficiency of the conveyancing process is improving. The average transaction time is static at between three and four months. The survey also tracked a downward trend in consumer confidence, from 36% to 21% for buyers and from 24% to 15% for sellers. “This also reflects sentiment about the state of the economy”, the CLC said.
Ward added: “I firmly believe we will look back on this moment as a major turning point in transforming a broken system into one in which consumers and professionals alike will have much greater clarity, certainty and confidence.”
The CLC, Raidiam and the Open Property Data Association were awarded a £750,000 grant in October last year to create a pilot of a Smart Data Property Trust Framework. The framework will enable information to be shared securely, with confidence in accuracy and provenance between the different parties in a transaction.
The CLC is also part of a new government AI Growth Lab which will help lawtech companies and conveyancing firms test new AI products in a controlled environment before they’re taken to market.
