Stress and high costs ‘bringing housing market to a standstill’
Surveys from the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) and the Homeowners Alliance suggest moving home is such an unpleasant and expensive experience, it’s bringing the market to a standstill. A survey of 5,000 home buyers by OPDA found 66% are reluctant to go through another move, with one in five saying they’d been significantly put […]
Unrealistic asking prices ‘piling pressure on conveyancers’
A growing gap between asking prices and final sale values is creating an increasingly stressful environment for conveyancers, new research suggests. According to Access Legal, price negotiations that persist long after instruction lead to conveyancers being forced to manage the administrative fallout, resulting in an increased workload per case and reduced billable margins. The software […]
Determined buyers sustaining demand, despite ‘fresh fog’ of rising inflation and house price slowdown
After Rightmove’s latest data offered a more optimistic picture of the housing market, ONS consumer price inflation figures and UK house price index bring what PwC UK described as “a fresh fog”. But despite the ongoing uncertainty over the Middle East conflict, other experts point out the house price index offers a backdated snapshot, and […]
A third of first-time buyers don’t understand the process, research finds
New research from Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) suggests there is a ‘confidence gap’ among prospective first-time buyers which is stopping them from buying. Despite more than half (52%) of the 1,001 renters surveyed by MAB saying they’re ready to purchase in 2026 and 75% feeling positive about their mortgage options, four in 10 of the […]
Fully digital homebuyer service launched by Lloyds Banking Group, LMS and Connells Group
Lloyds Banking Group, LMS and Connells Group have launched a fully digital home buying service, which the partners say will reshape the way homes are bought and sold across England and Wales. The digital homebuyer service has been developed to eliminate the points of frustration and cut weeks of waiting and uncertainty from the process, […]
Rightmove’s data shows a housing market holding up despite earlier fears
The latest data from Rightmove reveals a “surprisingly resilient” housing market, with the real-time market snapshot showing new buyer demand for April 7% below this time last year but consistent with this year’s trend of lagging behind 2025. First-time buyer demand is slightly stronger, down by 6% on last year. However, the last seven days […]
Post-pandemic property boom fuels remortgage market as five-year deals come to an end
A near 25% increase in mortgage activity in the first quarter of 2025 was driven by a 46% increase in remortgaging as “rafts of borrowers” continue to come off ultra-low pandemic era mortgage products, according to the latest Mortgage Market Briefing from Stonebridge. The brokerage network says the surge was due to large number of […]
‘Reform can’t come soon enough’, as time to exchange tops 19 weeks
The average time to exchange in the UK so far in 2026 is 134 days, or 4.4 months, according to the latest Property & Homemover Report from TwentyEA. The increase is backed up by data from Propertymark, whose member agents reported an average of 43% of housing transactions taking longer than 17 weeks to complete […]
Govt exceeds flood defence targets, but experts warn 1.2m homes are outside protection measures
The government has exceeded its flood defence targets by almost 10,000 properties, with almost 62,000 homes and businesses receiving protection over the last two years. Over £2.65 billion has been invested into flood defences by the government since 2024, resulting in 250 completed projects to repair and replace existing defences and construct new ones. According […]
FCA open finance roadmap ‘important step forward for property sector’
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out a roadmap for open data that will give consumers greater control over financial deals, and says it will examine how open finance can help consumers manage and improve access to mortgages. Open finance will offer people and businesses the potential to share their financial data securely with […]
Savings, cash gifts and mortgage-free purchases are biggest AML red flags
A discrepancy between the amount of savings declared by a buyer and the amount shown on their bank statement is the biggest red flag in anti-money laundering checks, according to data from client due diligence platform Thirdfort. Analysis of more than 415,000 completed Source of Funds (SoF) checks by the company revealed savings mismatches raised […]
From paper to platform: Evaluating digital conveyancing in the UK
Dr Saidunnabi Piyal, senior lecturer in law at the University of Wolverhampton, offers an academic’s view of the conveyancing journey from paper-based systems to digital platforms. Electronic conveyancing refers to the use of digital systems to manage, exchange and process information and documentation involved in property transactions. By replacing traditional paper-based methods with secure […]
Q1 property trends are encouraging for conveyancers, Landmark report suggests
Residential property data for Q1 of 2026 contains encouraging trends for conveyancers, the latest report from Landmark Information Group suggests. Although global pressures and affordability are constraining home moving activity, listing volumes rose by 3% year-on-year across Q1 2026, Landmark’s data reveals. A 6% uplift in January has resulted in consistently high levels of stock […]
‘Modest but meaningful’ drop in fall-through rates across UK
Fall-through rates have fallen slightly in 10 of the UK’s 13 regions, according to the latest report from property data analysts TwentyCi. The national rate fell from 24% in Q1 25 to 23.7% in Q1 26 – “a modest but meaningful” 0.3% percentage-point decline, TwentyCi said. The year-on-year reduction stands at 1.3%. The improvement was found […]
‘Tough times ahead’ in buy-to-let market as demand falls
Demand in the buy-to-let market has been largely fuelled by re-mortgaging, with new purchases falling slightly in Q4 of 2025 compared to the same period a year ago, newly released figures from UK Finance reveal. There were 59,489 new buy-to-let loans advanced in the UK, worth a total of £11.2 billion and up 18.2% on […]
Which lender will actually lend on your client’s property?
In the latest article in his series on AI in conveyancing, Ed Molyneux puts a practical example in front of the profession and invites them to test it themselves. I have spent the past month writing about what AI can and cannot do for conveyancers. Provenance. The judgment line. The difference between intelligence work and […]
Mortgage lifespan falls to record low as lenders pull products due to interest rate uncertainty
The average shelf life of a mortgage fell to a record low of just eight days in March, down from 14 days in February, according to the latest Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report. The previous lowest average lifespan of a mortgage was in July 2023, at just 12 days. Overall product choice has decreased […]
Real-term fall in conveyancing pricing, with four in 10 clients opting for cheapest quote
A scrabble for instructions in the final quarter of 2025 has resulted in a real-term fall in the cost of conveyancing, with a quarterly average purchase and sale fee (including disbursements and expenses) of £2440 in the first quarter of 2026, compared with £2437 a year ago. With inflation currently at 3%, conveyancing costs have […]
Law Society issues Mazur practice note
A new practice note aimed at providing guidance on how firms can ensure they are compliant with the recent Mazur decision has been published by the Law Society of England and Wales. The practice note provides advice on how firms can make sure that only those authorised to do so carry on the conduct of […]
Rightmove calls for stamp duty reforms, as first time buyers pay £4,618 more since relief ended
First-time buyers are paying an average of £4,618 more in stamp duty since the £425,000 threshold was removed last year, according to figures from Rightmove. The property portal is calling on the government to consider reforms to the property tax, as the figures reveal an extra £307 million has been collected from first time buyers […]