Category: Insight

Opinions, advice and thoughts of conveyancing professionals on a range of key topics. We let the profession have their voices heard and let you gain insight from a number of property career backgrounds. If you would like to share your views on a current issue within conveyancing, please email press@todaysconveyancer.co.uk.

Fully avoidable requisitions down 7% on 1.6m applications, says HMLR

Arrow avoid cross mark which it print screen on wooden block for Avoid problems concept

Fully avoidable requisitions make up nearly 5% of all applications to HM Land Registry according to newly published data aimed at helping conveyancers identify where issues are arising and what action may be taken to help reduce them. Avoidable requisitions, the identification of a requisition that contains missing, unclear or inconsistent information which could usually […]

Property transactions expected to hit 1.2m this year, report predicts

Four people look in an estate agent window on a sunny day

Housing transactions are looking “broadly similar” to last year, according to the latest TwentyCi Property and Homemover report. Overall, the number of transactions is down almost 4% compared with last year, but the number of properties brought to market between January and April went up by 5%. The impact of the conflict in the Middle […]

April saw ‘surprise’ increase in mortgage approvals, Bank of England data reveals

The signage outside the Bank of England viewed from below

The pipeline of future housing transactions remains resilient, with net mortgage approvals tracking above the latest six month average, according to the latest Bank of England Money and Credit Data for April 2026.  Net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 65,900 in April, above an average of around 63,100 over the previous six months. […]

Two thirds of CLC members ‘can’t cope with workload’

A man in a shirt and tie sits at a desk with his head in his hand, surrounded by large piles of files

Research commissioned by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has found two thirds of those questioned “have felt unable to cope with workload at least sometimes,” with 17% saying they can’t cope “frequently”. The Workplace and Diversity Survey 2025 was based on the responses of 733 CLC lawyers and managers, CLC-regulated practices and “others working […]

ALSP consultant headcount grows 25% in 12 months, topping 5,000

smiling woman working at her laptop

The number of self-employed consultant lawyers within alternative legal service provider (ALSP) platforms has topped 5,000 – a 25% increase in just 12 months. The numbers have been revealed in the fourth Platform Firms Report from Codex Edge. Last year, the report’s authors described ALSPs as “a fundamental part of the UK legal fabric” and […]

Most firms are buying AI: Here’s what you should be investing in instead

A graphic of a slice of cake with a cherry on top

Ed Molyneux argued last week that two AI shifts have compressed the Open Property Coalition’s roadmap. This week he sets out the four-layer stack a conveyancing firm actually needs to take advantage of those shifts, and why most firms are buying the wrong layer first.   If last week’s column persuaded you that the agentic […]

Property market finely poised as sales grow but fewer buyers than 12 months ago

For sale board outside a block of red brick flats

Property portal Zoopla says sales agreed are 1% up on the same time last year despite buyer demand being 10% down; the first positive sales agreed figure of 2026. As the property market moves toward toward the busy summer season, Zoopla says “browsers and those sensitive to higher borrowing costs” are less active in the […]

The Open Property Coalition’s roadmap is right: Two things to do this quarter

Ed Molyneux has been arguing that AI in property has a data problem, not a capability problem. Now that CFIT’s Open Property Coalition Roadmap 2026 is published, he reminds us where to ‘skate’ – and offers two specific actions every practice should take this quarter. Canadian ice-hockey legend Wayne Gretzky’s most quoted line is: “You […]

Signs of traditional property market spring bounce despite geopolitical upheaval as demand indicators increase

Wooden house depicted in a Spring meadow setting

There are signs of the traditional property market spring bounce, according to the estate agency membership and training body Propertymark. The organisation’s latest Housing Insight Report suggests an increase in the number of viewings and listings, with resilience in sales meaning there are “encouraging signs across the housing market.” Propertymark members reported both supply and […]

Private client work the most profitable for SME law firms

A solicitor greets a young couple in the office

Private client law, including wills, probate, tax, trust and estate-related advice is the most profitable area of law for small law firms, alongside litigation and dispute resolution, according to the latest Bellwether Report from LexisNexis.  These types of work were cited as the most profitable by 42% of respondents in the Bellwether Report 2026: Lean, […]

Conway v Conway: The risks of informal family property arrangements

An angry looking couple argue with a man just out of frame

Gabriella Banham and Stephanie Butler from the property litigation team at Birketts discuss the High Court’s decision in Conway v Conway, which examined the intersection between s.2. of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 and the doctrine of proprietary estoppel.   Family arrangements around property often begin with trust, goodwill and a shared […]

Leasehold complications lengthening transaction times, with conveyancing blamed for delays

The front window of a Connells estate agent

Average transaction times have extended by four weeks since 2019, according to statistics published by Connells Group this week. Leasehold transactions are driving much of the increase in average timescales, with a typical leasehold transaction taking 155 days to reach exchange in April – 58 days longer than a freehold property. The estate agency group […]

Half of homes don’t sell – Zoopla

For sale sign outside a property for sale

Nearly half of all homes listed for sale in the UK do not sell, according to Zoopla. Analysis of listings on the property portal identified 44% of homes listed in the past three years didn’t attract a buyer. Out of touch sellers are contributing to the issue, according to Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla. […]

Mandatory tax adviser registration: The question firms are still avoiding

A form with the HMRC header, with a pair of reading glasses placed over it

As HMRC remains steadfast in its insistence conveyancers must register as tax advisers in the face of ongoing objections, the Law Society of England and Wales has shared its own detailed guidance to help conveyancers approach the changes. With the confusion showing no sign of abating with just days to go to the registration commencement, […]

What does agentic diligence actually look like?

Agentic Diligence

Ed Molyneux has spent recent weeks explaining what AI can do, where it fails, and why provenance and shared data matter. Now he walks through a day in the life of a buyer’s conveyancer working with an AI agent on a live transaction — and invites the profession to consider what changes and what stays […]

Mortgage approvals up and interest rates down in first quarter of 2026

Bank of England Money and Credit Report

Mortgage approvals in March 2026 sat slightly higher than the six month average and average mortgage rates decreased slightly, according to the latest Bank of England (BoE) Money and Credit statistics.  Net mortgage approvals, a measure of future borrowing, increased to 63,500 in March from 62,700 in February, above an average of around 63,200 over […]