Near-term property pipeline ‘relatively solid’ say RICS

RICS updates consumer flooding guide

The final quarter of 2024 will be positive with buyer demand and sales activity on the rise according to the latest sentiment survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The latest Residential Property Monitor for August 2024 shows a rise in the number of people looking to buy homes, with a net balance […]

PracticeEvolve Partners with Legal Balance to Deliver a Transformative Webinar on Business Development for Law Firms

PracticeEvolve is excited to announce a partnership with Legal Balance to present an insightful webinar aimed at helping law firms rethink their business development strategies, including pricing models. Legal Balance, known for coaching and training lawyers in effective business development techniques, has a proven track record of helping top-tier law firms not only attract new […]

Land Registry to put fees up from December

HM Land Registry logo

HM Land Registry (HMLR) are increasing fees for information services including Agricultural Credits and Land Charges to “support an acceleration of service improvement, including through digital transformation.” The £4 increase will take effect from Monday 9th December 2024 and HMLR are encouraging firms to update their systems and pricing in anticipation. HMLR say the increase […]

Distribution partnership for AI-powered enquiry management tool

An enquiry management service which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and itemise communication from one conveyancer to another has secured investment and a distribution partnership with conveyancing intermediary and technology platform LMS and its parent company Movera.  Enquiry Manager, which has been developed by Collaborative Conveyancing, formally launched in March 2024 having secured investment […]

Interview: Thomas Bee, Matterhive

Thomas Bee, founder of Matterhive, talks to Today’s Conveyancer about the pain of moving home, challenges conveyancers face, the proliferation of prop-tech, and why a German-based company is interested in home moving technology in the UK…    TC: What is your background and where did the concept for MatterHive come about? TB: When I both […]

Where have all the Conveyancers Gone?

In the last few years the number of UK Conveyancing firms has dropped significantly – where are they, and what does this mean for the market as a whole? The IRN ‘UK Residential Conveyancing Market Report’ released in November 2023 made for sobering reading. According to its numbers, the number of conveyancing professionals undertaking transactions […]

Home equity hits record £5.7tn

The recovery of house prices in the UK and the increasing number of un-mortgaged and wholly owned properties has driven the value of equity in the UK housing stock to £5.7tn. 78% of the average property is owned in cash with over 55’s holding an average of £321,213 equity in their homes. Their collective property […]

Q&A reveals what is in, and out, of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024

A question & answer document provided by the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) has revealed what is included, and more importantly what is not included, in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The act scraped through Parliament on the final day of the Conservative government ahead of the General Election in July. Despite […]

Law Society outline TA6 consultation next steps

The Law Society of England and Wales have written to all those who registered for the TA6 consultation to outline plans and timescales for the next steps of the process.  The Law Society have engaged a third party company to conduct the research and report back its findings ahead of any proposed amendments to the […]

Fine for solicitor who acted on both sides of property transaction

A solicitor who acted on both sides of a property exchange has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for breaching Principle 7 of the SRA Principles 2019, failing to act in the best interests of each client. Stephen Vasey, a solicitor and partner at Walter & Plaskitt Solicitors in Stoke, was acting for […]

Busiest day of the year for moving

Friday 30th August is set to be the busiest moving day of the year with over 20,000 home moves expected. Analysis of 650,000 removal quotes from 201-2023 found August has been the most popular month to move home for the last 12 years. The research has been conducted by HomeOwners Alliance and reallymoving who found that […]

The first Bank of England rate cut in four years

At the beginning of August, the Bank of England announced a cut in the base rate of 0.25% from 5.25% to 5% – the first rate cut in four years, although the decision was a narrow one in favour of the cut. So, how has the market responded? There is a report from Rightmove of […]

Land Registry Delays – Conveyancers hit back

Delays at HM Land Registry is costing the property profession thousands of pounds in lost administrative time and effort… and potentially consumers looking to take advantage of falling interest rates. Clients looking to remortgage now, with mortgage rates reducing again, will be less than pleased at not being able to process their transactions due to […]

CoPSO Chair to step down

Long-time Chair of property search standards association The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO), James Sherwood-Rogers has announced he will step down at the end of September 2024 Launched in 2003, CoPSO has ‘enabled the creation of the modern search industry’ say Sherwood-Rogers, who has chaired the organisation for over 10 years. It has played […]

UK the slowest home moving nation

Home moving in England and Wales takes an average of 179 days from listing to completion; the slowest home moving completion timescales in 12 home moving nations. Across the 12, the average transaction takes 110 days with the US leading the way on 53 days from listing to ‘closing’. The research has been undertaken by […]

Transforming Conveyancing Processes With Digital

The conveyancing industry has long been burdened by manual processes that lead to inefficiencies, time delays, and potential errors when performing tasks. As a former paralegal, I’ve experienced firsthand the frustrations of traditional conveyancing methods that are no longer fit for purpose. “Digital” is the way to go. Digital solutions offer the ability to transform […]

Over 1200 conveyancers sign up to TA6 consultation

The Law Society of England and Wales have confirmed over 1200 conveyancers have registered to take part in the upcoming Property Information Form TA6 consultation launched in response to the backlash from the profession following its introduction in March of this year. The deadline for registration passed on Friday 16th August. The conveyancing profession hit […]

Are conveyancers prepared for Labour’s home building programme?

Conveyancers must be prepared to manage the additional workload brought by the Labour government’s house building targets as new figures show a continued decrease in the number of firms undertaking conveyancing work in England and Wales. The warning comes from from property data company Search Acumen whose latest Conveyancing Market Tracker shows a 3% reduction […]

Deadline to have your say on TA6 – Friday 16th August

The deadline for conveyancers to register to be involved in the TA6 consultation is on Friday 16th August. The Law Society of England and Wales says it has had over 1,000 conveyancing professionals register to take part.  The consultation was launched on 10th July with solicitors, licensed conveyancers or other professionals working in conveyancing being encouraged […]