Lessons in logbooks; how Ireland is looking to the UK for inspiration
The Irish government is considering how might digitise its property market and is looking to the experiences of England and Wales as it begins its journey; inviting property professionals from the UK to present to the Oireachtas (Parliamentary) Committee on the Digitisation of the Property Market. Professor Stewart Brymer and Nigel Walley, CEO of property […]
Government outline key priorities for HM Land Registry
Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Matthew Pennycook MP has written to the Chair of HM Land Registry Board to outline the government’s expectations for the body as it ramps up activity to deliver on its manifesto promise of 1.5m new homes in this Parliament. In a letter to Neil Sachdev, Chair […]
Commonhold to be default tenure for new flats under plans to bring an end to ‘feudal’ leasehold
Following promises to reform the ‘feudal’ tenure system the Government have unveiled plans to introduce commonhold as the default tenure for new flats in a move that could ultimately see leasehold phased out over time. The white paper, launched this week, proposes a new code of practice which will set our how costs would be […]
Roundtable highlights consumer misunderstanding of conveyancing
Conveyancing is ‘done to’ consumers, rather than them being active participants in the process, engendering a misunderstanding of the role and importance of conveyancing and leaving home movers frustrated with little recourse to put things right if they go wrong. The sentiment was shared at the latest Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) roundtable, at which […]
Revealed – How long do property transactions take?
The average time from conveyancers being instructed to completion for purchase transactions was 120 days in 2024, against 123 days in 2023; and for sale transactions that lengthened to 160 days in 2024, up slightly from 2023 (159). For sale transactions this represents an increase of 88% against 2007 timescales; and 60% up on 2007 […]
Groundsure launches enhanced planning search with applied intelligence
Groundsure, the UK’s environmental and climate data authority for land and property, has launched a fully revised planning data pipeline to help speed up the collection and visibility of planning applications for legal professionals in a desktop report. From today, all of Groundsure’s reports with detailed planning data will include planning records at a far […]
Government accepts all 58 Grenfell Inquiry recommendations
The government’s response to the Phase 2 and final report into the Grenfell Tower tragedy has been published, accepting the findings of the report and 49 of the recommendations made by the enquiry. The government says is accepts in principle a further nine but says committing to action on them might involved further consideration, including […]
Speed of change must be tempered with the right “guard rails”
The speed of change in the property market must be tempered by having the right ‘guard rails’ in place to ensure the more than £8tn of property registered at HM Land Registry (HMLR) (and the additional value of unregistered property) is properly protected throughout the current digitisation and modernisation of the home moving process. In […]
SRA client account consultation “unworkable, unjustified, and contrary to the rule of law”
The SRA’s consultation into the future of law firms holding client monies closed on Friday 21st February. The Law Society ‘slammed’ the proposals in its submission to the consultations, saying removing client account ‘may have huge ramifications for the quality of legal services including higher costs, delays and reduced access to justice.’ Now the Property […]
15% fall in conveyancer numbers since pandemic
There has been a 15% fall in the number of conveyancers in England and Wales from just over 13,000 to 11,140 between September 2021 and January 2025 according to data from the Law Society published in the latest UK Residential Conveyancing Market 2025 from IRN Legal Reports. As has been widely reported, the pressure and […]
Consumer groups advise homeowners not to install spray foam insulation
Consumer groups have advised homeowners not to install spray foam insulation because of the risks associated with incorrect installation and has written to government outlining their concerns. HomeOwners Alliance (HOA) and national trade body Property Care Association (PCA) have joined forces to raise awareness of the issues associated incorrectly installed spray foam installation. In the […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – DIY Conveyancing
Interesting call from a client this week… we all have those calls where as we are talking, we raise our eyebrows in silent surprise and end the call with a feeling of … well you know… did I just have that conversation? So here is the gist of it (names and addresses have been changed […]
50,000 more properties for sale in 2025 compared to start of 2024
The property market appears to be in rude health and ready to tackle any concerns of a post-March slump after SDLT nil rate band increases for first time buyers after analysis of stock levels across the country identified an additional 50,000 homes on the market at the end of January 2025 compared with the same […]
Solo buying still achievable for first time buyers
Research into the number of people buying their first home alone has been published showing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and affordability challenges with a slight decline in the number of buyers purchasing alone has fallen by 4% over the last four years; decreasing from 51% of purchasers in 2021 to 47% in 2024. […]
£1bn per year needed to maintain flood defences
A new report published by reinsurance scheme Flood Re has found the investment in flood defences has saved UK households £1.15bn in annual damage. It estimates without the current levels of flood defences the cost of losses could be as much as 2.8 times higher than it currently is. Flood risk modelling company Fathom was […]
Property market lags below pre-pandemic norms
An average of 2,984 property sales per day in 2024 represented a 7% increase on 2023, but sits some way below the more than 3,200 daily transactions each year between 2014 and 2019. According to analysis of transaction data by Moverly there were 1.09m transactions in the UK in 2024. England (2,512) and Northern Ireland […]
FTBs more optimistic about buying a home than 12 months ago
First time buyers (FTBs) are more optimistic about being able to afford to buy a home than they were a year ago according to the latest sentiment survey by the Building Societies Association (BSA). Following two Bank of England rates cuts in 2024, and a further one last week, the January Property Tracker Report reveals […]
25% uplift on activity ahead of SDLT deadline – Rightmove
Rightmove say it estimates more than 550,000 homes are currently going through the completion process, an uplift of 25% compared with the same time in 2024; providing an indication of the current intensity of the market. Most of it’s other demand metrics are up as well compared with 2024; the number of new sellers is […]
meh! Conveyancers respond to modernisation announcement
Conveyancers have responded to the government’s modernisation of the home moving process with a degree of scepticism according to a poll run by Today’s Conveyancer. One in three (34%) said the government’s proposed ‘modernisation’ of the home buying and selling process was a positive move, with the remaining respondents describing it as a ‘negative’ move […]
Nationwide clarifies position on Part II amends
Following backlash from the conveyancing community, Nationwide have clarified its position regarding recent updates to Part II enquiries which have caused consternation amongst practitioners. In fact, said the building society, the changes to Part IIs was in response to the increasing number of referrals it receives from conveyancers around restrictive covenants and mortgage protection clauses. It […]