Housing more affordable in 2024 than 2023 as affordability returns to pre-pandemic levels
Affordability of housing in England and Wales has fallen over the past 12 months from 8.4x earnings to 7.7x earning in England, and 6.2x to 5.9x earnings in Wales; to levels not seen since 2016. The figures are based on numbers released this week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing median earnings in […]
Cladding remediation won’t hit 2029 target say Public Accounts Committee
The government is unlikely to hit its target of resolving the cladding crisis by 2029 with progress ‘painfully slow’ and many barriers still to address, including identifying all buildings affected, which could be as many as 12,000 in total. Work is yet to start on over half of the 5,000 buildings over 11m so far […]
‘Crazy’ house prices more nuanced with 12.1% growth over last 10 years
‘Crazy’ increases in house prices over the last ten years must be taken in the context of inflation and wage growth with the reality being across the UK house prices have increased by 12.1% over the last decade. That is according to estate agent Yopa’s recently released Housing Market Affordability Review of the last decade […]
Legal Ombudsman braces for surge in SDLT complaints
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO0 is bracing itself for a rise in complaints as a projected 74,000 home moves could miss out on the SDLT deadline. A series of blogs on the LeO website begins with an article on the Ombudsman’s experience and activity around previous stamp duty holidays, design to inform firms of LeO’s attitude […]
Moving distances reveal North/South divide as Northerners stay closer to home
The median distance people move home is 11 miles, with 36% of moves taking place within five miles according to research conducted by home moving comparison website reallymoving.com. Home movers in the North of England are more likely to remain closer to home than their Eastern and Southern counterparts. Research shows home movers in the […]
Average property value up a quarter over the last 5 years
Detached property values have risen by more than £100,000 since 2020, as the demand for larger homes has driven property price growth. Over the lats five years, detached house prices have risen at a faster rate than during the previous five years, 29.6% against 23.7%. The only property type to not see a larger growth […]
Over 1/2m transactions causing ‘massive logjam’ ahead of SDLT deadline
Over 1/2m home moves are currently active in the home moving market, just under half of the 1.15m total number of home moves predicted for the whole of 2025, with the ‘massive logjam’ likely to result in 74,000 home movers missing the 31st March 2025 SDLT deadline suggest property portal Rightmove. 25,000 of those who […]
Remortgage uncertainty reigns with 50:50 split on 2 and 5 year deals
Borrowers are split on whether to opt for two or five year terms on remortgages as uncertainty over Bank of England interest rate cuts continues. 45% of remortgages were done on a two year term, and 46% of remortgages were taken out on a five year term. Three years (4%), ten years (1%),Tracker (1%) and […]
Stamp duty deadline distorting demand – RICS
The impending stamp duty deadline is ‘distorting’ the the underlying demand picture with weakening sentiment in February a result of time running out for new enquiries to take advantage of reliefs for first time buyers. Buyer demand sentiment in the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Property Survey shows a net balance […]
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 […]
96% of leaders are confident in their firm’s ability to comply with evolving AML regulations – report
96% of leaders are confident in their firm’s ability to comply with evolving anti-money laundering (AML) regulations but acknowledge staying up to date, ensuring staff are trained, and property completing client due diligence remain key compliance pain points. Despite a raft of firms being fines in recent weeks the inaugural UK Midsize Law Firm Priorities […]
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 […]
Momentum building for 1.15m transactions in 2025
Property momentum is building to deliver c.1.15m property transactions with both Rightmove and Zoopla predicting a 5% uplift on volumes over the course of 2025. Zoopla’s latest House Price Index indicates double digit growth across key measures of demand and supply alongside a strong start to 2025 according to HMRC’s latest transaction stats. HMRC’s latest […]
HMLR to introduce enhanced submission verification to reduce requisitions
HM Land Registry say an enhanced checking service will be available to all customers submitting applications through the Business Gateway-enabled software that will stop unnecessary requisitions by preventing ‘simple administrative errors’ from being submitted. Verification of data like ensuring the Charge date is in the present and not a date in the future, omissions of […]
Find out how much UK law firms spending on marketing activity
The Professional Services Marketing Survey, conducted annually by the Law Firm Marketing Club, aims to collect valuable insights directly from law firms about their marketing and business development (BD) activities, ensuring an accurate, firsthand perspective instead of relying on guesswork. We ask firms to share key information on their marketing budgets, the size and influence […]
SDLT changes to raise an additional £1.1bn in tax revenue
Changes to stamp duty at the end of March are expected to raise an additional £1.1bn in tax revenue as research suggests four in five existing home owners will be drawn into the reduced nil rate band brackets from 1st April. Research from property portal Zoopla suggests that around 49% of existing home owners who […]
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 […]
Strengthening Your AI Strategy: Adoption and Transformation in Conveyancing
Over the past few articles, we’ve explored a structured, six-pillar approach to AI adoption in the conveyancing sector—Vision, Value, Cost, Risk, Adoption, and Transformation. In our first piece, we introduced the framework and underscored the importance of aligning AI initiatives with strategic objectives. Our second article drilled deeper into Vision and Value, providing practical ways […]
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 […]
Putting the Pieces in Place: Cost and Risk in Your AI Strategy for Conveyancing
In our first article, we introduced the six-pillar AI strategy framework—Vision, Value, Cost, Risk, Adoption, and Transformation—and highlighted why a structured approach is crucial for conveyancers. In our second article, we drilled deeper into the first two pillars, Vision (defining a clear AI purpose) and Value (measuring ROI and ROE). Now, we turn to the […]
